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THE  SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES 


A  STORY  OF  NEW  YORK  LIFE. 


BY 


ANNA    KATHARINE   GREEN 

AUTHOR  OF  "  THE  LEAVENWORTH  CASE,"  "A  8TRAVQE  DISAPPEARANCE,"   ETC. 


"  When  all  else  fails  love  saves ' 


NEW    YORK 

G.  P.  PUTNAM'S   SONS 

27  &  29  WEST  230  STREET 

1881 


COPYRIGHT,  i88t,  BY  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS. 


MY  PATHEK 

I  DEDICATE  THIS   BOOK 
AS   EXPRESSING   SOME  OF  THE   PRINCIPLES  OF 

JUSTICE  AND  MERCY   WHICH, 

BY   PRECEPT  AND   EXAMPLE,  HE   HAS 

INSTILLED   INTO   MY 

BREAST 
FROM   EARLY   CHILDHOOD. 


NEW  YORK,  April,  i£8i. 


2034534 


CONTENTS. 


BOOK   I. 

TWO    MEN. 
CHAI-THR.  PAGK 

I. — A  WANDERER i 

II. — A  DISCUSSION 3 

III. — A  MYSTERIOUS  SUMMONS 10 

IV. — SEARCHINGS 22 

V. — THE  RUBICON       ...  .  -35 

VI. — A  HAND  CLASP 49 

VII. — MRS.  SYLVESTER .     52 

VIII. — SHADOWS  OF  THE  PAST 61 

IX. — PAULA 70 

X.— THE  BARRED  DOOR 87 

XI. — Miss  STUYVESANT 96 

XII. — Miss  BELINDA  MAKES  CONDITIONS    ....  109 
XIII. — THE  END  OF  MY  LADY'S  PICTURE    ....  122 

BOOK    II. 
LIFE   AND   DEATH. 

XIV. — Miss  BELINDA  HAS  A  QUESTION  TO  DECIDE      .        .  138 
XV. — AN  ADVENTURE — OR  SOMETHING  MORE     .        .        .  157 

XVI. — THE  SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES 168 

XVII.— GRAVE  AND  GAY .184 

XVIII. — IN  THE  NIGHT  WATCHES 200 

XIX. — A  DAY  AT  THE  BANK 205 

XX. — THE  DREGS  IN  THE  CUP 214 

XXI. — DEPARTURE 225 

XXII.— HOPGOOD 237 


vi  CONTENTS: 


BOOK   III. 
THE  JAPHA   MYSTERY. 

CHAPTER.  PAGE 

XXIII.— THE  POEM 251 

XXIV. — THE  JAPHA  MANSION 262 

XXV.— JACQUELINE 275 

XXVI. — A  MAN'S  JUSTICE  AND  A  WOMAN'S  MERCY        .        .  289 

XXVII.— THE  LONE  WATCHER 305 

XXVIII. — SUNSHINE  ON  THE  HILLS 312 

XXIX. — MIST  IN  THE  VALLEY 327 

BOOK   IV. 
FROM   A.  TO   Z. 

XXX. — Miss   BK.LINDA    PRESENTS    MR.  SYLVESTER  WITH  A 

CHRISTMAS  GIFT 330 

XXXI.— A  QUESTION 341 

XXXII.— FULL  TIDE 34» 

XXXIII.— Two  LETTERS 362 

XXXIV. — PAULA  MAKES  HER  CHOICE 374 

XXXV. — THE  FALLING  OF  THE  SWORD 387 

XXXVI.— MORNING 406 

XXXVII. — THE  OPINION  OF  A  CERTAIN  NOTED  DETECTIVE      .  413 

XXXVIII. — BLUEBEARD'S  CHAMBER 437 

XXXIX.— FROM  A.  TO  Z 442 

XL. — HALF-PAST  SEVEN 473 

BOOK    V. 
WOMAN'S   LOVE, 

XLI. — THE  WORK  OF  AN  HOUR 476 

XLII. — PAULA  RELATES  A  STORY  SHE  HAS  HEARD       .        .  497 

XLI  1 1. — DETERMINATION 505 

XLIV. — IN  MR.  STUYVESANT'S  PARLORS 509 

XLV. — "THE  HOUR  OF  Six  is  SACRED!"      .        .        .        .521 
XL VI. — THE  MAN  CUMMINS 530 


•  Damocles,  one  of  the  courtiers  of  Dionysius,  was  perpetually  extolling 
with  rapture  that  tyrant's  treasures,  grandeur,  the  number  of  his  troops, 
the  extent  of  his  dominions,  the  magnificence  of  his  palaces,  and  the  uni- 
versal abundance  of  all  good  things  and  enjoyments  in  his  possession ; 
always  repeating,  that  never  man  was  happier  than  Dionysius.  "  Since 
you  are  of  that  opinion,"  said  the  tyrant  to  him  one  day,  "  will  you  taste 
and  make  proof  of  my  felicity  in  person  ?  "  The  offer  was  accepted  with 
joy ;  Damocles  was  placed  upon  a  golden  couch,  covered  with  carpets 
richly  embroidered.  The  side-boards  were  loaded  with  vessels  of  gold 
and  silver.  The  most  beautiful  slaves  in  the  most  splendid  habits  stood 
around,  ready  to  serve  him  at  the  slightest  signal.  The  most  exquisite 
essences  and  perfumes  had  not  been  spared.  The  table  was  spread  with 
proportionate  magnificence.  Damocles  was  all  joy,  and  looked  upon 
himself  as  the  happiest  man  in  the  world  ;  when  unfortunately  casting  up 
his  eyes,  he  beheld  over  his  head  the  point  of  a  sword,  which  hung  from 
the  roof  only  by  a  single  horse-hair. 

ROLLIN. 


THE  SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES. 


BOOK   I. 

TWO     MEN. 

I. 

A    WANDERER. 
u  There's  no  such  word." — BULWER. 

A  WIND  was  blowing  through  the  city.  Not  a  gentle 
and  balmy  zephyr,  stirring  the  locks  on  gentle  ladies'  fore- 
heads and  rustling  the  curtains  in  elegant  boudoirs,  but  a 
chill  and  bitter  gale  that  rushed  with  a  swoop  through  nar- 
row alleys  and  forsaken  courtyards,  biting  the  cheeks  of  the 
few  solitary  wanderers  that  still  lingered  abroad  in  the  dark- 
ened streets. 

In  front  of  a  cathedral  that  reared  its  lofty  steeple  in  the 
midst  of  the  squalid  houses  and  worse  than  squalid  saloons 
of  one  of  the  dreariest  portions  of  the  East  Side,  stood  the 
form  of  a  woman.  She  had  paused  in  her  rush  down  the 
narrow  street  to  listen  to  the  music,  perhaps,  or  to  catch  a 
glimpse  of  the  light  that  now  and  then  burst  from  the  widely 


2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

swinging  doors  as  they  opened  and  shut  upon  some  tardy 
worshipper. 

She  was  tall  and  fearful  looking ;  her  face,  when  the 
light  struck  it,  was  seared  and  desperate  ;  gloom  and  deso- 
lation were  written  on  all  the  lines  of  her  rigid  but  wasted 
form,  and  when  she  shuddered  under  the  gale,  it  was  with 
that  force  and  abandon  to  which  passion  lends  its  aid,  and 
in  which  the  soul  proclaims  its  doom. 

Suddenly  the  doors  before  her  swung  wide  and  the 
preacher's  voice  was  heard  :  "  Love  God  and  you  will  love 
your  fellow-men.  Love  your  fellow-men  and  you  best  show 
your  love  to  God." 

She  heard,  started,  and  the  charm  was  broken.  "  Love  !" 
she  echoed  with  a  horrible  laugh ;  "  there  is  no  love  in 
heaven  or  on  earth  !  " 

And  she  swept  by,  and  the  winds  followed  and  the  dark- 
ness swallowed  her  up  like  a  gulf. 


II. 

A     DISCUSSION. 

tl  Young  men  think  old  men  fools,  and  old  men  know  young  men  to  be  so. 

RAY'S  PROVERBS. 

"  AND  you  are  actually  in  earnest  ?  " 

"lam." 

The  first  speaker,  a  fine-looking  gentleman  of  some  forty 
years  of  age,  drummed  with  his  fingers  on  the  table  before 
him  and  eyed  the  face  of  the  young  man  who  had  repeated 
this  assent  so  emphatically,  with  a  certain  close  scrutiny  in- 
dicative of  surprise. 

"  It  is  an  unlooked-for  move  for  you  to  make,"  he  re- 
marked at  length.  "  Your  success  as  a  pianist  has  been  so 
decided,  I  confess  I  do  not  understand  why  you  should  de- 
sire to  abandon  a  profession  that  in  five  years'  time  has  pro- 
cured you  both  competence  and  a  very  enviable  reputation — 
for  the  doubtful  prospects  of  Wall  Street,  too  !  "  he  added 
with  a  deep  and  thoughtful  frown  that  gave  still  further  im- 
pressiveness  to  his  strongly  marked  features. 

The  young  man  with  a  sweep  of  his  eye  over  the  luxur- 
ious apartment  in  which  they  sat,  shrugged  his  shoulders 
with  that  fine  and  nonchalant  grace  which  was  one  of  his 
chief  characteristics. 

"  With  such  a  pilot  as  yourself,   I  ought  to  be  able   to 


4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

steer  clear  of  the  shoals,"  said  he,  a  frank  smile  illumining 
a  face  that  was  rather  interesting  than  handsome. 

The  elder  gentleman  did  not  return  the  smile.  Instead 
of  that  he  remained  gazing  at  the  ample  coal-fire  that 
burned  in  the  grate  before  him  with  a  look  that  to  the 
young  musician  was  simply  inexplicable.  "  You  see  the  ship 
in  haven,"  he  murmured  at  last  ;  "but  do  not  consider  what 
storms  it  has  weathered  or  what  perils  escaped.  It  is  a  voy- 
age I  would  encourage  no  son  of  mine  to  undertake." 

"Yet  you  are  not  the  man  to  shrink  from  danger  or  to 
hesitate  in  a  course  you  had  marked  out  for  yourself,  be- 
cause of  the  struggle  it  involved  or  the  difficulties  it  pre- 
sented !  "  the  young  man  exclaimed  almost  involuntarily  as 
his  glance  lingered  with  a  certain  sort  of  fascination  on  the 
powerful  brow  and  steady  if  somewhat  melancholy  eye  of 
his  companion. 

"  No  ;  but  danger  and  difficulty  should  not  be  sought, 
only  subdued  when  encountered.  If  you  were  driven  into 
this  path,  I  should  say,  '  God  pity  you ! '  and  hold  you  out 
my  hand  to  steady  you  along  its  precipices  and  above  its 
sudden  quicksands.  But  you  are  not  driven  to  it.  Your 
profession  offers  you  the  means  of  an  ample  livelihood  while 
your  good  heart  and  fair  talents  insure  you  ultimate  and 
honorable  success,  both  in  the  social  and  artistic  world. 
For  a  man  of  twenty-five  such  prospects  are  not  common 
and  he  must  be  difficult  to  please  not  to  be  satisfied  with 
them." 

"  Yes,"  said  the  other  rising  with  a  fitful  movement  but 


TWO  MEN.  5 

instantly  sitting  again ;  "  I  have  nothing  to  complain  of  as 
the  world  goes,  only — Sir,"  he  exclaimed  with  a  sudden  de- 
termination that  lent  a  force  to  his  features  they  had  hitherto 
lacked,  "you  speak  of  being  driven  into  a  certain  course; 
what  do  you  mean  by  that  ?  " 

"  I  mean,"  returned  the  other ;  "  forced  by  circum- 
stances to  enter  a  line  of  business  to  which  many  others,  if 
not  all  others  are  preferable." 

"  You  speak  strongly,  speculation  evidently  has  none  of 
your  sympathy,  notwithstanding  the  favorable  results  which 
have  accrued  to  you  from  it.  But  excuse  me,  by  circum- 
stances you  mean  poverty,  I  suppose,  and  the  lack  of  every 
other  opening  to  wealth  and  position.  You  would  not  con- 
sider the  desire  to  make  a  large  fortune  in  a  short  space  of 
time  a  circumstance  of  a  sufficiently  determining  nature  to 
reconcile  you  to  my  entering  Wall  Street  speculation  ?  " 

The  elder  gentleman  rose,  not  as  the  other  had  done 
with  a  restless  impulse  quickly  subsiding  at  the  first  excuse, 
but  forcibly  and  with  a  feverish  impatience  that  to  appear- 
ance was  somewhat  out  of  proportion  to  the  occasion.  "  A 
large  fortune  in  a  short  space  of  time  !  "  he  reiterated,  paus- 
ing where  he  had  risen  with  an  eagle  glance  at  his  compan- 
ion and  a  ringing  tone  in  his  voice  that  bespoke  a  deep  but 
hitherto  suppressed  agitation.  <(  It  is  the  alluring  inscrip- 
tion above  the  pitfall  into  which  many  a  noble  youth  has 
fallen ;  the  battle-cry  to  a  struggle  that  has  led  many  a 
strong  man  the  way  of  ruin  ;  the  guide-post  to  a  life  whose 
feverish  days  and  sleepless  nights  offer  but  poor  compensa- 


0  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

tion  for  the  sudden  splendors  and  as  sudden  reverses  at- 
tached to  it.  I  had  rather  you  had  accounted  for  this  sud- 
den freak  of  yours  by  the  strongest  aspiration  after  power 
than  by  this  cry  of  the  merely  mercenary  man  who  in  his 
desire  to  enjoy  wealth,  prefers  to  win  it  by  a  stroke  of  luck 
rather  than  conquer  it  by  a  life  of  endeavor."  He  stopped. 
"  I  am  aware  that  this  tirade  against  the  ladder  by  which  I 
myself  have  risen  so  rapidly,  must  strike  you  as  in  ill-taste. 
But  Bertram,  I  am  interested  in  your  welfare  and  am  will- 
ing to  incur  some  slight  charge  of  inconsistency  in  order  to 
insure  it,"  and  here  he  turned  upon  his  companion  with  that 
expression  of  extreme  gentleness  which  lent  such  a  peculiar 
charm  to  his  countenance  and  explained  perhaps  the  almost 
unlimited  power  he  held  over  the  hearts  and  minds  of  those 
who  came  within  the  circle  of  his  influence. 

"  You  are  very  good,  sir,"  murmured  his  young  friend, 
who  to  explain  matters  at  once  was  in  reality  the  nephew 
of  this  Wall  Street  magnate,  though  from  the  fact  of  his  hav- 
ing taken  another  name  on  entering  the  musical  profes- 
sion, was  not  generally  known  as  such.  "  No  one,  not 
even  my  father  himself,  could  have  been  more  considerate 
and  kind  ;  but  I  do  not  think  you  understand  me,  or  rather 
I  should  say  I  do  not  think  I  have  made  myself  perfectly 
intelligible  to  you.  It  is  not  for  the  sake  of  wealth  itself  or 
the  eclat  attending  its  possession  that  I  desire  an  immediate 
fortune,  but  that  by  means  of  it  I  may  attain  another  object 
dearer  than  wealth,  and  more  precious  than  my  career." 

The  elder   gentleman   turned   quickly,  evidently   much 


TWO  MEN.  7 

surprised,  and  cast  a  sudden  inquiring  glance  at  his  nephew, 
who  blushed  with  a  modest  ingenuousness  pleasing  to  see  in 
one  so  well  accustomed  to  the  critical  gaze  of  his  fellow-men. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  as  if  in  answer  to  that  look,  "  I  am  in 
love." 

•A  deep  silence  for  a  moment  pervaded  the  apartment, 
a  sombre  silence  almost  startling  to  young  Mandeville,  who 
had  expected  some  audible  expression  to  follow  this  an- 
nouncement if  only  the  good-natured  "  Pooh  !  pooh  !  "  of 
the  matured  man  of  the  world  in  the  presence  of  ardent 
youthful  enthusiasm.  What  could  it  mean  ?  Looking  up 
he  encountered  his  uncle's  eye  fixed  upon  him  with  the  last 
expression  he  could  have  anticipated  seeing  "there,  namely 
that  of  actual  and  unmistakable  alarm. 

"  You  are  displeased,"  Mandeville  exclaimed.  "  You 
have  thought  me  proof  against  such  a  passion,  or  perhaps 
you  do  not  believe  in  the  passion  itself  !  "  Then  with  a  sud- 
den remembrance  of  the  notable  if  somewhat  indolent  loveli- 
ness of  his  uncle's  wife,  blushed  again  at  his  unusual  want 
of  tact,  while  his  eye  with  an  involuntary  impulse  sought 
the  large  panel  at  their  right  where,  in  the  full  bloom  of  her 
first  youth,  the  lady  of  the  house  smiled  upon  all  beholders. 

"  I  do  not  believe  in  that  passion  influencing  a  man's 
career,"  his  uncle  replied  with  no  apparent  attention  to  the 
other's  embarrassment.  "  A  woman  needs  be  possessed  of 
uncommon  excellences  to  justify  a  man  in  leaving  a  path 
where  success  is  certain,  for  one  where  it  is  not  only  doubt- 
ful but  if  attained  must  bring  many  a  regret  and  heart-ache 


8  THE   SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES, 

in  its  train.  Beauty  is  not  sufficient,"  he  went  on  with 
sterner  and  sterner  significance,  "  though  it  were  of  an  an- 
gelic order.  There  must  be  worth."  And  here  his  mind's 
eye  if  not  that  of  his  bodily  sense,  certainly  followed  the 
glance  of  his  companion. 

"  I  believe  there  is  worth,"  the  young  man  replied  ;  "  cer- 
tainly, it  is  not  her  beauty  that  charms  me.  I  do  not  even 
know  if  she  is  beautiful,"  he  continued. 

"  And  you  believe  you  love  !  "  the  elder  exclaimed  after 
another  short  pause 

There  was  so  much  of  bitterness  in  the  tone  in  which 
this  was  uttered,  that  Mandeville  forgot  its  incredulity.  "  I 
think  I  must,"  returned  he  with  a  certain  masculine  naivete 
not  out  of  keeping  with  his  general  style  of  face  and  manner, 
"  else  I  should  not  be  here.  Three  weeks  ago  I  was  satis- 
fied with  my  profession,  if  not  enthusiastic  over  it ;  to-day 
I  ask  nothing  but  to  be  allowed  to  enter  upon  some  business 
that  in  three  years'  time  at  least  will  place  me  where  I  can 
be  the  fit  mate  of  any  woman  in  this  land,  that  is  not  worth 
her  millions." 

"  The  woman  for  whom  you  have  conceived  this  violent 
attachment  is,  then,  above  you  in  social  position  ?  " 

"Yes,  sir,  or  so  considered,  which  amounts  to  the  same 
thing,  as  far  as  I  am  concerned." 

"  Bertram,  I  have  lived  longer  than  you  and  have  seen 
much  of  both  social  and  domestic  life,  and  I  tell  you  no 
woman  is  worth  such  a  sacrifice  on  the  part  of  a  man  as  you 
propose.  No  woman  of  to-day,  I  should  say  ;  our  mothers 


TWO  MEN.  9 

were  different.  The  very  fact  that  this  young  lady  of  whom 
you  speak,  obliges  you  to  change  your  whole  course  of  life 
in  order  to  obtain  her,  ought  to  be  sufficient  to  prove  to  you 
— "  He  stopped  suddenly,  arrested  by  the  young  man's 
lifted  hand.  "  She  does  not  oblige  you,  then  ?  " 

"  Not  on  her  own  account,  sir.  This  lily,"  lifting  a  vase 
of  blossoms  at  his  elbow,  "  could  not  be  more  innocent  of 
the  necessities  that  govern  the  social  circle  it  adorns,  than 
the  pure,  single-minded  girl  to  whom  I  have  dedicated  what 
is  best  and  noblest  in  my  manhood.  It  is  her  father — " 

"  Ah,  her  father  !  " 

"  Yes,  sir,"  the  young  man  pursued,  more  and  more  as- 
tonished at  the  other's  tone.  "  He  is  a  man  who  has  a  right 
to  expect  both  wealth  and  position  in  a  son-in-law.  But  I 
see  I  shall  have  to  tell  you  my  story,  sir.  It  is  an  uncom- 
mon one  and  I  never  meant  that  it  should  pass  my  lips,  but 
if  by  its  relation  I  can  win  your  sympathy  for  a  pure  and 
noble  passion,  I  shall  consider  the  sacred  seal  of  secrecy 
broken  in  a  good  cause.  But,"  said  he,  seeing  his  uncle  cast 
a  short  and  uneasy  glance  at  the  door,  "  perhaps  I  am  inter- 
rupting you.  You  expect  some  one  !  " 

"  No,"  said  his  uncle,  "  my  wife  is  at  church  ;  I  am  ready 
to  listen." 

The  young  man  gave  a  hurried  sigh,  cast  one  look  at  his 
companion's  immovable  face,  as  if  to  assure  himself  that  the 
narrative  was  necessary,  then  leaned  back  and  in  a  steady 
business-like  tone  that  softened,  however,  as  he  proceeded, 
began  to  relate  as  follows  : 


III. 

A   MYSTERIOUS   SUMMONS. 

"  Without  unspotted,  innocent  within, 

She  feared  no  danger,  for  she  knew  no  sin.'1— DRYDEN. 

IT  was  after  a  matinee  performance  at Hall  some 

two  weeks  ago  that  I  stopped  to  light  a  cigar  in  the  small 
corridor  leading  to  the  back  entrance.  I  was  in  a  dissatis- 
fied frame  of  mind.  Something  in  the  music  I  had  been 
playing  or  the  manner  in  which  it  had  been  received  had 
touched  unwonted  chords  in  my  own  nature.  I  felt  alone. 
I  remember  asking  myself  as  I  stood  there,  what  it  all 
amounted  to  ?  Who  of  all  the  applauding  crowd  would 
watch  at  my  bedside  through  a  long  and  harassing  sickness, 
or  lend  their  sympathy  as  they  now  yielded  their  praise,  if 
instead  of  carrying  off  the  honors  of  the  day  I  had  failed  to 
do  justice  to  my  reputation.  I  was  just  smiling  over  the 
only  exception  I  could  make  to  this  sweeping  assertion,  that 
of  the  pale-eyed  youth  you  have  sometimes  observed  dogg- 
ing my  steps,  when  Briggs  came  up  to  me. 

"  There  is  a  woman  here,  sir,  who  insists  on  seeing  you  ; 
she  has  been  waiting  through  half  the  last  piece.  Shall  I 
tell  her  you  are  coming  out  ?  " 

"  A  woman  !  "  exclaimed  I,  somewhat  surprised,  for  my 
visitors  are  not  apt  to  be  of  the  gentler  sex. 


TWO  MEN.  II 

"  Yes  sir,  an  old  one.  She  seems  very  anxious  to  speak 
to  you.  I  could  not  get  rid  of  her  no  how." 

I  hurried  forward  to  the  muffled  figure  which  he  pointed 
out  cowering  against  the  wall  by  the  door.  "  Well,  my  good 
woman,  what  do  you  want  ?  "  I  asked,  bending  towards  her 
in  the  hopes  of  catching  a  glimpse  of  the  face  she  held  partly 
concealed  from  me. 

"  Are  you  Mr.  Mandeville  ?  "  she  inquired  in  a  tone 
shaken  as  much  by  agitation  as  age. 

I  bowed. 

"  The  one  who  plays  upon  the  piano  ?  " 

"  The  very  same,"  I  declared. 

"You  are  not  deceiving  me,"  she  went  on,  looking  up 
with  a  marked  anxiety  plainly  visible  through  her  veil.  "I 
haven't  seen  you  play  and  couldn't  contradict  you,  but — " 

"  Here  !  "  said  I  calling  to  Briggs  with  a  kindly  look  at 
the  old  woman,  "  help  me  on  with  my  coat,  will  you  ?  " 

The  "  Certainly,  Mr.  Mandeville,"  with  which  he  com- 
plied seemed  to  reassure  her,  and  as  soon  as  the  coat  was  on 
and  he  was  gone,  she  grasped  me  by  the  arm  and  drew  my 
ear  down  to  her  mouth. 

"  If  you  are  Mr.  Mandeville,  I  have  a  message  for  you. 
This  letter,"  slipping  one  into  my  hand,  "  is  from  a  young 
lady,  sir.  She  bade  me  give  it  to  you  myself.  She  is  young 
and  pretty,"  she  pursued  as  she  saw  me  make  a  movement 
of  distaste,  "  and  a  lady.  We  depend  upon  your  honor,  sir." 

I  acknowledge  that  my  first  impulse  was  to  fling  her  back 
the  note  and  leave  the  building;  I  was  in  no  mood  for  tri- 


12  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

fling,  my  next  to  burst  into  a  laugh  and  politely  hand  her  to 
the  door,  my  last  and  best,  to  open  the  poor  little  note  and 
see  for  myself  whether  the  writer  was  a  lady  or  not.  Pro- 
ceeding to  the  door,  for  it  was  already  twilight  in  the  dim 
passage  way,  I  tore  open  the  envelope  which  was  dainty 
enough  and  took  out  a  sheet  of  closely  written  paper.  A 
certain  qualm  of  conscience  assailed  me  as  I  saw  the  deli- 
cate chirography  it  disclosed  and  I  was  tempted  to  thrust 
it  back  and  return  it  unread  to  the  old  woman  now  trem- 
bling in  the  corner.  But  curiosity  overcame  my  scruples, 
and  hastily  unfolding  the  sheet  I  read  these  lines  : 

"  I  do  not  know  if  what  I  do  is  right ;  I  am  sure  aunty 
would  not  say  it  was ;  but  aunty  never  thinks  anything  is 
right  but  going  to  church  and  reading  the  papers  to  papa. 
I  am  just  a  little  girl  who  has  heard  you  play,  and  who 
would  think  the  world  was  too  beautiful,  if  she  could  hear 
you  say  to  her  just  once,  some  of  the  kind  things  you  must 
speak  every  day  to  the  persons  who  know  you.  I  do  not 
expect  very  much — you  must  have  a  great  many  friends, 
and  you  would  not  care  for  me — but  the  least  little  look, 
if  it  were  all  my  own,  would  make  me  so  happy  and  so 
proud  I  should  not  envy-  anybody  in  the  world,  unless  it 
was  some  of  those  dear  friends  who  see  you  always. 

"  I  do  not  come  and  hear  you  play  often,  for  aunty  thinks 
music  frivolous,  but  I  am  always  hearing  you  no  matter  where 
I  am,  and  it  makes  me  feel  as  if  I  were  far  away  from  every- 
body, in  a  beautiful  land  all  sunshine  and  flowers.  But  nurse 


TWO  MEN.  13 

says  I  must  not  write  so  much  or  you  will  not  read  it,  so  I 
will  stop  here.  But  if  you  would  come  it  would  make  some 
one  happier  than  even  your  beautiful  music  could  do." 

That  was  all ;  there  was  neither  name  nor  date.  A  child's 
epistle,  written  with  a  woman's  circumspection.  With  min- 
gled sensations  of  doubt  and  curiosity  I  turned  back  to  the 
old  woman  who  stood  awaiting  me  with  eager  anxiety. 

"  Was  this  written  by  a  child  or  woman  ? "  I  asked, 
meeting  her  eye  with  as  much  sternness  as  I  could  assume. 

"  Don't  ask  me — don't  ask  me  anything.  I  have  prom- 
ised to  bring  you  if  I  could,  but  I  cannot  answer  any  ques- 
tions." 

I  stepped  back  with  an  incredulous  laugh.  Here  was 
evidently  an  adventure.  "  You  will  at  least  tell  me  where 
the  young  miss  lives,"  said  I,  "before  I  undertake  to  fulfil 
her  request." 

She  shook  her  head.  "  I  have  a  carriage  at  the  door, 
sir,"  said  she.  "  All  you  have  got  to  do  is  to  get  into  it 
with  me  and  we  shall  soon  be  at  the  house." 

I  looked  from  her  face  to.  the  letter  in  my  hand,  and 
knew  not  what  to  think.  The  spirit  of  simplicity  and  in- 
genuousness that  marked  the  latter  was  scarcely  in  keeping 
with  this  air  of  mystery.  The  woman  observing  my  hesita- 
tion moved  towards  the  door. 

"Will  you  come,  sir?"  she  inquired.  "You  will  not 
regret  it.  Just  a  moment's  talk  with  a  pretty  young  girl- 
surely — " 


14  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Hush,"  said  I,  hearing  a  hasty  step  behind  me.  And 
sure  enough  just  then  my  intimate  friend  Selby  came  along 
and  grasping  me  by  the  arm  began  dragging  me  towards  the 
door.  "  You  are  my  property,"  said  he.  "  I've  promised,  on 
my  word  of  honor  as  a  gentleman  and  a  musician,  to  bring 
you  to  the  Handel  Club  this  afternoon.  I  was  afraid  you 
had  escaped  me,  but — "  Here  he  caught  sight  of  the  small 
black  figure  halting  in  the  doorway,  and  paused. 

"  Who's  this  ? "  said  he. 

I  hesitated.  For  one  instant  the  scale  of  my  whole 
future  destiny  hung  trembling  in  the  balance,  then  the 
demon  of  curiosity  got  the  better  of  my  judgment,  and  with 
the  rather  unworthy  consideration  that  I  might  as  well  enjoy 
my  youth  while  I  could,  I  released  myself  from  my  friend's 
detaining  hand  and  replied,  "  Some  one  with  whom  I  have 
very  particular  business.  I  cannot  go  to  the  Handel  Club 
to-day,"  and  darting  out  without  further  delay,  I  rejoined 
the  old  woman  on  the  sidewalk. 

Without  a  word  she  drew  me  towards  a  carriage  I  now 
observed  standing  by  the  curbstone  a  few  feet  to  the  left. 
As  I  got  in  I  remember  pausing  a  moment  to  glance  at  the 
man  on  the  box,  but  it  was  too  dark  for  me  to  perceive  any- 
thing but  the  fact  that  he  was  dressed  in  livery.  More  and 
more  astonished  I  leaned  back  in  my  seat  and  endeavored  to 
open  conversation  with  my  mysterious  companion.  But  it 
did  not  work.  Without  being  actually  rude,  she  parried 
my  questions  in  such  a  way  that  by  the  end  of  five  minutes 
I  found  myself  as  far  from  any  knowledge  of  the  real  situa- 


TWO 'MEN.  15 

tion  of  the  case  as  when  I  started.  I  therefore  desisted  from 
any  further  attempts  and  turned  to  look  out,  when  I  made  a 
discovery  that  for  the  first  time  awoke  some  vague  feelings  of 
alarm  within  my  breast.  This  was,  that  the  window  was  not 
covered  by  a  curtain  as  I  supposed,  but  by  closed  blinds  which 
when  I  tried  to  raise  them  resisted  all  my  efforts  to  do  so. 

"  It  is  very  close  here,"  I  muttered,  in  some  sort  of  ex- 
cuse for  this  display  of  uneasiness.  "  Cannot  you  give  us  a 
little  air  ?  "  But  my  companion  remained  silent,  and  I  felt 
ashamed  to  press  the  matter  though  I  took  advantage  of  the 
darkness  to  remove  to  a  safer  place  a  roll  of  money  which  I 
had  about  me. 

Yet  I  was  far  from  being  really  anxious,  and  did  not 
once  meditate  backing  out  of  an  adventure  that  was  at  once 
so  piquant  and  romantic.  For  by  this  time  I  became  con- 
scious from  the  sounds  about  me  that  we  had  left  the  side 
street  for  one  of  the  avenues  and  were  then  proceeding 
rapidly  up  town.  Listening,  I  heard  the  roll  of  omnibuses 
and  the  jingle  of  car-bells,  which  informed  me  that  we  were 
in  Broadway,  no  other  avenue  in  the  city  being  traversed  by 
both  these  methods  of  conveyance.  But  after  awhile  the 
jingle  ceased  and  presently  the  livelier  sounds  of  constant 
commotion  inseparable  from  a  business  thoroughfare,  and 
we  entered  what  I  took  to  be  Madison  Avenue  at  Twenty- 
third  Street. 

Instantly  I  made  up  mind  to  notice  every  turn  of  the 
carriage,  that  I  might  fix  to  some  degree  the  locality  towards 
which  we  were  tending.  But  it  turned  but  once  and  that 


1 6  THE   SWORD  'OF  DAMOCLES. 

after  a  distance  of  steady  travelling  that  quite  overthrew  any 
calculation  I  was  able  to  make  at  that  time  of  the  probable 
number  of  streets  we  had  passed  since  entering  the  avenue. 
Having  turned,  it  went  but  about  half  a  block  to  the  left 
when  it  stopped.  "  I  shall  see  where  I  am  when  I  get  out," 
thought  I ;  but  in  this  I  was  mistaken. 

First  we  had  stopped  in  the  middle  of  a  block  of  houses 
built,  as  far  as  I  could  judge,  all  after  one  model.  Next  the 
fact  of  the  front  door  being  open,  though  I  saw  no  one  in 
the  hall,  somewhat  disconcerted  me,  and  I  hurried  across 
~the  sidewalk  and  up  the  stoop  in  a  species  of  maze  hardly  to 
be  expected  from  one  of  my  naturally  careless  disposition. 
The  next  moment  the  door  closed  behind  me  and  I  found 
myself  in  a  well-lighted  hall  whose  quiet  richness  betokened 
it  as  belonging  to  a  private  dwelling  of  no  mean  pretensions 
to  elegance. 

This  was  the  first  surprise  I  received. 

"  Follow  me,"  said  the  old  woman,  hurrying  me  down  the 
hall  and  into  a  small  room  at  the  end.  "  The  young  lady 
will  be  here  in  a  moment,"  and  without  lifting  her  veil  or 
affording  me  the  least  glimpse  of  her  features,  she  retired, 
leaving  me  to  face  the  situation  before  me  as  best  I  might. 

It  was  anything  but  a  pleasant  one  as  it  appeared  to  me 
at  that  moment,  and  for  an  instant  I  seriously  thought  of 
retracing  my  steps  and  leaving  a  domicile  into  which  I  had 
been  introduced  in  such  a  mysterious  manner.  Then  the 
quiet  aspect  of  the  room,  which  though  sparsely  furnished 
with  a  piano  and  chairs  was  still  of  an  order  rarely  seen  out 


TWO  MEN.  17 

of  gentlemen's  houses,  struck  my  imagination  and  reawak- 
ened my  curiosity,  and  nerving  myself  to  meet  whatever  in- 
terview might  be  accorded  me,  I  waited.  It  was  only  five 
minutes  by  the  small  clock  ticking  on  the  mantel-piece,  but 
it  seemed  an  hour  before  I  heard  a  timid  step  at  the  door, 
and  saw  it  swing  slowly  open,  disclosing — well,  I  did  not 
stop  to  inquire  whether  it  was  a  child  or  a  woman.  I  merely 
saw  the  shrinking  modest  form,  the  eager  blushing  face,  and 
bowed  almost  to  the  ground  in  a  sudden  reverence  for  the 
sublime  innocence  revealed  to  me.  Yes,  it  did  not  take  a 
second  look  to  read  that  tender  countenance  to  its  last  guile- 
less page.  Had  she  been  a  woman  of  twenty-five  I  could 
not  have  mistaken  her  expression  of  pure  delight  and  timid 
interest,  but  she  was  only  sixteen,  as  I  afterwards  learned, 
and  younger  in  experience  than  in  age. 

Closing  the  door  behind  her,  she  stood  for  a  moment  with- 
out speaking,  then  with  a  deepening  of  the  blush  which  was 
only  a  child's  embarrassment  in  the  presence  of  a  stranger, 
looked  up  and  murmured  my  name  with  a  word  or  so  of 
grateful  acknowledgment  that  would  have  called  forth  a 
smile  on  my  lips  if  I  had  not  been  startled  by  the  sudden 
change  that  passed  over  her  features  when  she  met  my  eyes. 
Was  it  that  I  showed  my  surprise  too  plainly,  or  did  my 
admiration  manifest  itself  in  my  gaze  ?  an  admiration  great 
as  it  was  humble,  and  which  was  already  of  a  nature  such 
as  I  had  never  before  given  to  girl  or  woman.  Whatever 
it  was,  she  no  sooner  met  my  look  than  she  paused,  trembled, 
and  started  back  with  a  confused  murmur,  through  which  I 


1 8  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

plainly  heard  her  whisper  in  a.  low  distressed  tone,  "Oh, 
what  have  I  done  !  " 

"  Called  a  good  friend  to  your  side,"  said  I  in  the  frank, 
brotherly  way  I  thought  most  likely  to  reassure  her.  "  Do 
not  be  alarmed,  I  am  only  too  happy  to  meet  one  who  evi- 
dently enjoys  music  so  well." 

But  the  hidden  chord  of  womanhood  had  been  struck  in 
the  child's  soul,  and  she  could  not  recover  herself.  For  an 
instant  I  thought  she  would  turn  and  flee,  and  struck  as  I 
was  with  remorse  at  my  reckless  invasion  of  this  uncontam- 
inated  temple,  I  could  not  but  admire  the  spirited  picture 
she  presented  as,  with  form  half  turned  and  face  bent  back, 
she  stood  hesitating  on  the  point  of  flight. 

I  did  not  try  to  stop  her.  "  She  shall  follow  her  own  im- 
pulse," said  I  to  myself,  but  I  felt  a  vague  relief  that  was 
deeper  than  I  imagined,  when  she  suddenly  relinquished  her 
strained  attitude,  and  advancing  a  step  or  so  began  to  mur- 
mur: 

"  I  did  not  know — I  did  not  realize  I  was  doing  what 
was  so  very  wrong.  Young  ladies  do  not  ask  gentlemen 
to  come  and  see  them,  no  matter  how  much  they  desire  to 
make  their  acquaintance.  I  see  it  now ;  I  did  not  before. 
Will  you — can  you  forgive  me  ?  " 

I  smiled ;  I  could  not  help  it.  I  could  have  taken  her 
to  my  heart  and  soothed  her  as  I  would  a  child,  but 
the  pallor  of  womanhood,  which  had  replaced  the  blush 
of  the  child,  awed  me  and  made  my  own  words  come  hesi- 
tatingly. 


TWO  MEN.  19 

"  Forgive  you  ?  You  must  forgive  me  !  It  was  as  wrong 
for  me,"  I  went  on  with  a  wild  idea  of  not  mincing  matters 
with  this  pure  soul,  "  to  obey  your  innocent  request,  as  it 
was  for  you  to  make  it.  I  am  a  man  of  the  world  and  know 
its  convenances  j  you  are  very  young." 

"  I  am  sixteen,"  she  murmured. 

The  abrupt  little  confession,  implying  as  it  did  her  de- 
termination not  to  accept  any  palliation  of  her  conduct  which 
it  did  not  deserve,  touched  me  strangely.  "  But  very  young 
for  that,"  I  exclaimed. 

"  So  aunty  says,  but  no  one  can  ever  say  it  any  more," 
she  answered.  Then  with  a  sudden  gush,  "  We  shall  never 
see  each  other  again,  and  you  must  forget  the  motherless  girl 
who  has  met  you  in  a  way  for  which  she  must  blush  through 
life.  It  is  no  excuse,"  she  pursued  hurriedly,  "  that  nurse 
thought  it  was  all  right.  She  always  approves  of  everything 
I  do  or  want  to  do,  especially  if  it  is  anything  aunt  would 
be  likely  to  forbid.  I  have  been  spoiled  by  nurse." 

"  Was  nurse  the  woman  who  came  for  me  ?  "  I  asked. 

She  nodded  her  head  with  a  quick  little  motion  inexpres- 
sibly charming.  "  Yes,  that  was  nurse.  She  said  she  would 
do  it  all,  I  need  only  write  the  note.  She  meant  to  give  me 
a  pleasure,  but  she  did  wrong." 

"  Yes,"  thought  I,  "  how  wrong  you  little  know  or  real- 
ize."    But  I  only  said,  "  You  must  be  guided  by  some  one- 
with  more  knowledge  of  the  world  after  this.     "  Not,"  I  made 
haste  to  add,  struck  by  the  misery  in  her  child  eyes,  "  that 
any  harm  has  been  done.     You  could  not  have  appealed  to 


20  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

the  friendship  of  any  one  who  would  hold  you  in  greater 
respect  than  I.  Whether  we  meet  again  or  not,  my  memory 
of  you  shall  be  sweet  and  sacred,  I  promise  you  that." 

But  she  threw  out  her  hand  with  a  quick  gesture.  "  No, 
do  not  remember  me.  My  only  happiness  will  lie  in  the 
thought  you  have  forgotten."  And  the  last  remnants  of  the 
child  soul  vanished  in  that  hurried  utterance.  "  You  must 
go  now,"  she  continued  more  calmly.  "  The  carriage  that 
brought  you  is  at  the  door  ;  I  must  ask  you  to  take  it  back 
to  your  home." 

"  But,"  I  exclaimed  with  a  wild  and  unbearable  sense  of 
sudden  loss  as  she  laid  her  hand  on  the  knob  of  the  door, 
"  are  we  to  part  like  this  ?  Will  you  not  at  least  trust  me 
with  your  name  before  I  go  ?  " 

Her  hand  dropped  from  the  knob  as  if  it  had  been  hot 
steel,  and  she  turned  towards  me  with  a  slow  yearning  mo- 
tion that  whatever  it  betokened  set  my  heart  beating  vio- 
lently. "  You  do  not  know  it,  then  ?  "  she  inquired. 

"  I  know  nothing  but  what  this  little  note  contains,"  I 
replied,  drawing  her  letter  from  my  pocket. 

"  Oh,  that  letter  !  I  must  have  it,"  she  murmured ;  then, 
as  I  stepped  towards  her,  drew  back  and  pointing  to  the 
table  said,  "  Lay  it  there,  please." 

I  did  so,  whereupon  something  like  a  smile  crossed  her 
lips  and  I  thought  she  was  going  to  reward  me  with  her 
name,  but  she  only  said,  "  I  thank  you  ;  now  you  know  noth- 
ing ;  "  and  almost  before  I  realized  it  she  had  opened  the 
door  and  stepped  into  the  halL 


TWO  MEN,  21 

As  I  made  haste  to  follow  her,  the  sound  of  a  low, 
"  He  is  a  gentleman,  he  will  ask  no  questions,"  struck  my 
ear,  and  looking  up,  I  saw  her  just  leaving  the  side  of  the 
old  nurse  who  stood  evidently  awaiting  me  half  down  the 
hall.  Bowing  with  formal  ceremony,  I  passed  her  by  and 
proceeded  to  the  front  door.  As  I  did  so  I  caught  one 
glimpse  of  her  face.  It  had  escaped  from  all  restraint  and 
the  expression  of  the  eyes  was  overpowering.  I  subdued 
a  wild  impulse  to  leap  back  to  her  side,  and  stepped  at  once 
over  the  threshold.  The  nurse  joined  me,  and  together  we 
went  down  the  stoop  to  the  street. 

"  May  I  inquire  where  you  wish  to  be  taken  ?  "  she  asked. 

I  told  her,  and  she  gave  the  order  to  the  coachman,  to- 
gether with  a  few  words  I  did  not  hear  ;  then  stepping  back 
she  waited  for  me  to  get  in.  There  was  no  help  for  it.  I 
gave  one  quick  look  behind  me,  saw  the  front  door  close, 
realized  how  impossible  it  would  ever  be  forme  to  recognize 
the  house  again,  and  placed  my  foot  on  the  carriage  step. 
Suddenly  a  bright  idea  struck  me,  and  hastily  dropping  my 
cane  I  stepped  back  to  pick  it  up.  As  I  did  so  I  pulled  out 
a  bit  of  crayon  I  chanced  to  have  in  my  pocket,  and  as  I 
stooped,  chalked  a  small  cross  on  the  curbstone  directly  in 
front  of  the  house,  after  which  I  recovered  my  cane,  uttered 
some  murmured  word  of  apology,  jumped  into  the  carriage 
and  was  about  to  shut  the  door,  when  the  old  nurse  stepped 
in  after  me  and  quietly  closed  it  herself.  By  the  pang  that 
shot  through  my  breast  as  the  carriage  wheels  left  the  house, 
I  knew  that  for  the  first  time  in  my  life,  I  loved. 


IV. 

SEARCHINGS. 
"  Patience,  and  shuffle  the  cards." — CERVANTES. 

IF  I  had  expected  anything  from  the  presence  in  the 
carriage  of  the  woman  who  had  arranged  this  interview,  I 
was  doomed  to  disappointment.  Reticent  before,  she  was 
absolutely  silent  now,  sitting  at  my  side  like  a  grim  statue 
or  a  frozen  image  of  watchfulness,  ready  to  awake  and  stop 
me  if  I  offered  to  open  the  door  or  make  any  other  move 
indicative  of  a  determination  to  know  where  I  was,  or  in 
what  direction  I  was  going.  That  her  young  mistress  in 
the  momentary  conversation  they  had  held  before  our  de- 
parture had  succeeded  in  giving  her  some  idea  of  the 
shame  with  which  she  had  felt  herself  overwhelmed  and 
her  present  natural  desire  for  secrecy,  I  do  not  doubt,  but  I 
think  now,  as  I  thought  then,  that  the  unusual  precautions 
taken  both  at  that  time  and  before,  to  keep  me  in  igno- 
ance  of  the  young  lady's  identity,  were  due  to  the  elderly 
woman's  own  consciousness  of  the  peril  she  had  invoked 
in  yielding  to  the  wishes  of  her  young  and  thoughtless  mis- 
tress ;  a  theory  which,  if  true,  argues  more  for  the  mind  than 
the  conscience  of  this  mysterious  woman.  However,  it  is 
with  facts  we  have  to  deal,  and  you  will  be  more  interested 


TWO  MEN.  23 

in  learning  what   I   did,  than  what  I  thought  during   that 
short  ride  in  perfect  darkness. 

The  mark  which  I  had  left  on  the  curbstone  behind  me 
sufficiently  showed  the  nature  of  my  resolve,  and  when  we 
made  the  first  turn  at  the  end  of  the  block  I  leaned  back 
in  my  seat  and  laying  my  finger  on  my  wrist,  began  to  count 
the  pulsations  of  my  blood.  It  was  the  only  device  that 
suggested  itself,  by  which  I  might  afterward  gather  some 
approximate  notion  of  the  distance  we  travelled  in  a  straight 
course  down  town.  I  had  just  arrived  at  the  number  seven 
hundred  and  sixty-two,  and  was  inwardly  congratulating 
myself  upon  this  new  method  of  reckoning  distance,  when 
the  wheels  gave  a  lurch  and  we  passed  over  a  car  track.  In- 
stantly all  my  fine  calculations  fell  to  the  ground.  We  were 
not  in  Madison  Avenue,  as  I  supposed ;  could  not  be,  since 
no  track  crosses  that  avenue  below  Fifty-ninth  Street,  and 
we  were  proceeding  on  as  we  could  not  have  done  had  we 
gained  the  terminus  of  the  avenue  at  Twenty-third  Street. 
Could  it  be  that  the  carriage  had  not  been  turned  around 
while  I  was  in  the  house,  and  that  we  had  come  back  by  way 
of  Fifth  Avenue  ?  I  could  not  remember — in  fact,  the  more 
I  tried  to  think  which  way  the  horses'  heads  were  directed 
when  we  went  into  the  house,  the  more  I  was  confused.  But 
presently  I  considered  that  wherever  we  were,  we  certainly 
had  not  passed  over  the  narrow  strip  of  smooth  pavement  in 
front  of  the  Worth  monument,  and  therefore  could  not  have 
reached  Twenty-third  Street  by  way  of  Fifth  Avenue.  We 
must  be  up  town,  and  that  track  we  crossed  must  have  been 


24  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

at  Fifty-ninth  Street.  And  soon,  as  if  to  assure  me  of  this,  we 
took  a  turn,  quickly  followed  at  a  block's  length  by  another, 
after  which  I  had  no  difficulty  in  recognizing  the  smooth 
pavement  of  the  entrance  to  the  Park  or  the  roll  down  Fifth 
Avenue  afterwards.  "  They  have  thought  to  confuse  me  by 
an  extra  mile  or  so  of  travel,"  thought  I,  with  some  compla- 
cency, "  but  the  streets  of  New  York  are  too  simply  laid  out 
to  lend  themselves  to  any  such  easy  mode  of  mystification." 
Yet  I  have  thought  since  then  how,  with  a  smarter  man  on 
the  box,  the  affair  might  have  been  conducted  so  as  to  have 
baffled  the  oldest  citizen  in  any  attempt  at  calculation. 

When  we  stopped  in  front  of  the  Albemarle  I  quietly 
thanked  the  woman  who  had  conducted  me,  and  stepped  to 
the  ground.  Instantly  the  door  shut  behind  me,  the  carriage 
drove  off,  and  I  was  left  standing  there  like  a  man  suddenly 
awakened  from  a  dream. 

Entering  my  hotel,  I  ordered  supper,  thinking  that  the 
very  practical  occupation  of  eating  would  serve  to  divert  my 
mind  into  its  ordinary  channels.  But  the  dream,  if  dream  it 
was,  had  made  too  vivid  an  impression  to  be  shaken  off  so 
easily.  It  followed  me  to  the  hall  in  the  evening  and  min- 
gled with  every  chord  I  struck. 

I  could  scarcely  sleep  that  night  for  thinking  of  the  sweet 
child's  face  that  had  blossomed  into  a  woman's  before  my 
eyes,  and  what  a  woman  !  With  the  first  hint  of  daylight  I 
rose,  and  as  soon  as  it  was  in  any  degree  suitable  to  be  out, 
hired  a. cab  and  proceeded  to  the  corner  of  Fifty-ninth  Street 
and  Madison  Avenue,  where,  according  to  my  calculations 


TWO  MEN.  25 

of  the  evening  before,  we  had  crossed  the  car  track  which 
had  first  interrupted  me  in  that  very  original  method  of  com- 
puting distance  of  which  I  have  already  spoken,  a  method  by 
the  way,  which  you  must  acknowledge  is  an  improvement  on 
the  boy's  plan  of  finding  his  way  back  from  the  woods  by 
means  of  the  bread-crumbs  he  had  scattered  behind  him, 
forgetting  that  the  birds  would  eat  up  his  crumbs  and  leave 
him  without  a  clew.  Bidding  the  driver  proceed  at  the  ordi- 
nary jog  trot  down  the  avenue,  I  laid  my  finger  on  my  wrist, 
and  counted  each  throb  of  my  pulse  till  I  had  reached  the 
magical  number  seven  hundred  and  sixty-two.  Then  put- 
ting my  head  out  of  the  window,  I  bade  him  stop.  We  were 
in  the  middle  of  a  block,  but  that  did  not  disconcert  me.  I 
had  not  expected  to  gain  more  than  an  approximate  idea  of 
the  spot  where  we  had  first  turned  into  the  avenue,  it  being 
impossible  to  regulate  the  horses'  pace  so  as  to  tally  with 
that  taken  by  the  span  of  the  night  before,  even  if  the  pulsa- 
tions in  my  wrist  were  to  be  absolutely  relied  upon.  Noting 
the  streets  between  which  we  had  paused,  I  bade  the  driver 
to  turn  down  one  and  come  back  by  the  other,  occupying 
myself  in  the  meanwhile,  in  searching  the  curbstone  for  the 
small  mark  I  had  left  in  front  of  her  door  the  night  before. 
But  though  we  drove  slowly  and  I  searched  carefully,  not  a 
trace  did  I  perceive  of  that  telltale  sign,  and  forsaking  those 
two  streets,  I  ordered  my  obedient  Jehu  to  try  the  two  out- 
lying ones  below  and  above.  He  did  so,  and  I  again  con- 
sulted the  curbstone,  but  with  no  better  success.  No  mark 
or  remnants  of  a  mark  was  to  be  found  anywhere.  Nor, 


26  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

though  we  travelled  through  three  or  four  other  streets  in 
the  same  way,  did  we  come  upon  any  clew  liable  to  assist 
me  in  my  search.  Clean  discouraged  and  somewhat  out  of 
temper  with  myself  for  my  pusillanimity  of  the  evening  be- 
fore in  not  having  braved  the  anger  of  my  companion  by 
opening  the  carriage  door  at  the  first  corner  and  leaping  out, 
1  commanded  to  be  taken  back  to  the  hotel,  where  for  a 
whole  miserable  day  I  racked  my  brain  with  devices  for  ac- 
quiring the  knowledge  I  so  much  desired.  The  result  was 
futile,  as  you  may  imagine  ;  nor  will  I  stop  to  recount  the 
various  expedients  to  which  I  afterwards  resorted  in  my 
vain  attempt  to  solve  the  mystery  of  this  young  girl's  iden- 
tity. 

Enough  that  they  all  failed,  even  the  very  promising  one 
of  searching  the  various  photographic  establishments  of  the 
city,  for  the  valuable  clew  which  her  picture  would  give  me. 
And  so  a  week  passed. 

"  It  is  time  this  mad  infatuation  was  at  an  end,"  said  I  to 
myself  one  morning  as  I  sat  down  to  write  a  letter.  "  There 
is  no  hope  of  my  ever  seeing  her  again,  and  I  am  but  fritter- 
ing away  the  best  emotions  of  my  life  in  thus  indulging  in 
a  dream  that  is  not  the  prelude  to  a  reality."  But  in  spite 
of  the  wise  determination  thus  made,  I  soon  found  my 
•thoughts  recurring  to  their  old  channel,  and  seized  with 
sudden  impatience  at  my  evident  weakness,,  took  up  the 
letter  I  had  been  writing  and  was  about  to  read  it,  when  to 
my  great  amazement  I  perceived  that  instead  of  inditing  the 
usual  words  of  a  business  communication,  I  had  been  en- 


TWO  MEN.  27 

gaged  in  scribbling  a  certain  number  up  and  down  the  page 
and  even  across  the  bottom  where  my  signature  should  have 
been. 

fc  Am  I  a  fool  ? "  I  exclaimed,  and  was  about  to  tear  the 
sheet  in  two,  when  glancing  again  at  the  number,  which  was 
a  simple  thirty-six,  I  asked  myself  where  I  had  got  those 
especial  figures.  Instantly  there  arose  before  my  mind's  eye 
the  vision  of  a  brown-stone  front  with  its  vestibule  and  door. 
It  was,  then,  the  number  of  a  house  ;  but  what  house  ?  a 
chateau  en  Espagne  or  a  bona  fide  New  York  dwelling,  which 
for  some  reason  had  unconsciously  impressed  itself  upon  my 
memory  ?  I  could  not  answer.  There  on  the  page  was  the 
number  thirty-six,  and  equally  plain  in  my  mind  was  the 
look  of  the  brown-stone  front  to  which  that  number  be- 
longed— and  that  was  all. 

But  it  was  enough  to  awaken  within  me  the  spirit  of 
inquiry.  The  few  houses  thus  numbered  in  that  quarter  of 
the  city  where  I  had  lately  been,  were  not  so  hard  to  find 
"but  that  a  morning  given  to  the  business  ought  to  satisfy  me 
•whether  the  vision  in  my  mind  had  its  basis  in  reality.  Tak- 
ing a  cab,  I  rode  up  town  and  into  that  region  of  streets  I 
had  traversed  so  carefully  a  week  before.  For  I  was  as- 
sured that  if  the  impression  had  been  made  by  an  actual 
dwelling  it  had  been  done  at  that  time.  Following  the  same 
course  I  then  took,  I  consulted  the  appearance  of  the  various 
houses  to  which  that  number  was  assigned.  The  first  was 
built  of  brick  ;  that  was  not  it.  The  next  one  had  pillars  to 
the  vestibule  ;  and  that  was  not  it.  The  third,  to  use  an 


28  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Irish  bull,  was  no  house  at  all,  but  a  stable,  while  the  fourth 
was  an  elegant  structure  of  much  more  pretension  than  the 
plain  and  simple  front  I  had  in  my  mind  or  memory.  I  was 
about  to  utter  a  curse  upon  my  folly  and  go  home,  when'  I 
remembered  there  was  yet  a  street  or  two  taken  in  my  zig- 
zag course  of  the  week  before,  which  I  had  not  yet  tested. 
"Might  as  wel|  be  thorough,"  I  muttered,  and  bade  my 
driver  proceed  down Street. 

What  was  there  in  its  aspect  that  dimly  excited  me  at 
the  first  glance  ?  A  dim  remembrance,  a  certain  ghostly  as- 
surance that  we  had  reached  the  right  spot  ?  As  we  neared 
the  number  I  sought,  I  could  not  suppress  an  exclamation 
of  surprise.  For  there  before  me  to  its  last  detail,  stood  the 
house  which  involuntarily  presented  itself  to  my  mind,  when 
my  eye  first  fell  upon  that  mysterious  number  scribbled  at 
the  foot  of  the  page  I  was  writing. 

It  was,  then,  no  chimera  of  an  overwrought  brain,  this 
vision  of  a  house-front  which  had  been  haunting  me,  but  a 
distinct  remembrance  of  an  actual  dwelling  seen  by  me  in 
my  former  journey  through  this  street.  But  why  this  house- 
front  above  all  others  ;  what  was  there  in  it  to  make  such 
an  impression  ?  Looking  at  it  I  could  not  determine,  but 
after  we  had  passed,  something,  I  cannot  tell  what,  brought 
back  another  remembrance,  trivial  in  itself,  but  yet  a  link  in 
the  chain  that  was  destined  sooner  or  later  to  lead  me  out 
of  the  maze  into  which  I  had  stumbled.  It  was  merely  this; 
that  as  I  rode  along  the  streets  on  that  memorable  morning, 
searching  for  that  mark  on  the  curbstone  from  which  I  hoped 


TWO  MEN.  29 

so  much,  I  had  come  upon  a  spot  where  the  pavement  had 
been  freshly  washed.  With  that  unconscious  action  of  the 
brain  with  which  we  are  familiar,  I  looked  at  the  sidewalk  a 
moment,  running  even  then  with  the  water  that  had  been 
cast  upon  it,  and  then  gave  a  quick  glance  at  the  house. 
That  glance,  account  for  it  as  you  will,  took  in  the  picture 
before  it  as  the  camera  catches  the  impression  of  a  likeness, 
and  though  in  another  instant  I  had  forgotten  the  whole  oc- 
currence, it  needed  but  a  certain  train  of  thought  or  perhaps 
a  certain  state  of  emotion  to  revive  it  again. 

A  noble  cause  for  such  an  act  of  unconscious  cerebration 
you  will  say,  a  freshly  washed  pavement  :  Le  jeu  ne  faut pas 
la  chandelle.  And  so  I  thought  too,  or  would  have  thought 
if  I  had  not  been  so  interested  in  the  pursuit  in  which  I  was 
engaged,  and  if  the  idea  had  not  suggested  itself  that  water 
and  a  broom  might  obliterate  chalk-marks  from  curbstones, 
and  that  the  imps  that  preside  over  our  mental  forces  would 
not  indulge  in  such  a  trick  at  my  expense  unless  the  play  was 
worth  the  candle.  At  all  events,  from  the  moment  I  made 
this  discovery,  I  fixed  my  faith  on  that  house  as  the  one 
which  held  the  object  of  my  search,  and  though  I  contented 
myself  with  merely  noting  the  number  of  the  street  as  we 
left  it,  I  none  the  less  determined  to  pursue  my  investiga- 
tions, till  I  had  learned  beyond  the  possibility  of  a  doubt 
whether  my  conjectures  were  not  true. 

A  perseverance  worthy  of  a  better  cause  you  will  say,  but 
you  are  no  longer  twenty-five  and  under  the  influence  of 
your  first  passion.  I  own  I  was  astonished  at  myself  and 


30  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

frequently  paused  in  the  pursuit  I  had  undertaken,  to  ask 
if  I  were  the  same  person  who  but  a  fortnight  before  laughed 
at  the  story  of  a  man  who  had  gone  mad  over  the  body  of 
an  unknown  woman  he  had  saved  from  a  wreck  only  to  find 
her  dead  in  his  arms. 

The  first  thing  I  did  was  to  ascertain  the  name  of  the  gen- 
tleman occupying  the  house  I  have  specified.  It  was  that  of 
one  of  our  wealthiest  and  most  respectable  bankers,  a  name  as 
well  known  in  the  city — as  your  own  for  instance.  This  was 
somewhat  disconcerting,  but  with  a  dogged  resolution  some- 
what foreign  to  my  natural  disposition,  I  persevered  in  my 
investigations,  and  learning  in  the  next  breath  that  the  gen- 
tleman alluded  to  was  awidojver  with  an  only  child,  a  young 
daughter  of  about  sixteen  or  so,  recovered  my  assurance, 
though  not  my  equanimity.  Seeking  out  my  friend  Farrar, 
who  as  you  know  is  a  walking  gazette  of  New  York  society, 
I  broached  the  subject  of  Mr. — excuse  me  if  I  do  not 
mention  his  name  ;  allow  me  to  say,  Preston's  domestic  af- 
fairs, and  learned  that  Miss  Preston,  "  A  naive  little  piece  for 
so  great  an  heiress,"  I  remember  Farrar  called  her,  had  left 
town  within  a  day  or  two  for  a  visit  to  some  friends  in  Balti- 
more. "  I  happen  to  know,"  said  he  with  that  careless  sweep 
of  his  hand  at  which  you  have  so  often  laughed,  "  because 
my  friend  Miss  Forsyth  met  her  at  the  depot.  She  was  in- 
tending to  be  gone — two  weeks,  I  think  she  said.  Do  you 
know  her  ?  " 

That  last  question  sprung  upon  me  unawares,  and  I 
am  afraid  I  blushed.  "  No,"  I  returned,  "  I  have  not  that 


TWO  MEN.  31 

honor  but  an  acquaintance  of  mine  has — well — has  met  her 
and — " 

"  I  see,  I  see,"  broke  in  Farrar  with  his  most  disagreeable 
smile.  Then  with  a  short  laugh,  meant  to  act  as  a  warning,  I 
suppose,  added  as  he  walked  off,  "  I  hope  your  friend  is  in 
fair  circumstances  and  not  connected  with  the  fine  arts. 
Music  is  Mr.  Preston's  detestation,  while  Miss  Preston  though 
too  young  to  be  much  sought  after  yet,  will  in  two  years' 
time  have  the  pick  of  the  city  at  her  command." 

"  So  !  "  thought  I  to  myself  ;  "  my  little  innocent  charmer 
is  an  embryo  aristocrat,  eh  ?  Well  then,  I  was  a  greater  fool 
than  I  imagined."  And  I  walked  out  of  the  hotel  where  I 
had  met  Farrar,  with  the  very  sensible  conclusion  to  drop  a 
subject  that  promised  nothing  but  disappointment. 

But  the  fates  were  against  me,  or  the  good  angels  perhaps, 
and  at  the  next  corner  I  met  an  old  acquaintance,  the  very 
opposite  of  Farrar  in  character,  who  with  a  long  love  story 
of  his  own  fired,  my  imagination  to  such  an  extent  that  in 
spite  of  myself  I  turned  down Street,  and  was  proceed- 
ing to  pass  her  house,  when  suddenly  the  thought  struck  me, 
"  How  do  I  know  that  this  unapproachable  daughter  of  one 
of  our  most  prominent  citizens  is  one  and  the  same  person 
with  my  dainty  little  charmer.  Widowers  with  young  daugh- 
ters are  not  so  rare  in  this  great  city  that  I  need  consider  the 
question  as  decided,  because  by  a  half  superstitious  freak  of 
my  own  I  have  settled  upon  this  house  as  the  one  I  was  in 
the  other  night.  My  inamorata  may  be  the  offspring  of  a 
musician  for  all  I  know."  And  inflamed  at  the  thought  of 


32  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

this  possibility — I  remembered  the  piano,  you  see — I  gave 
to  the  winds  all  my  fine  resolutions  and  only  asked  how 
I  could  determine  for  once  and  all,  whether  I  had  ever 
crossed  the  threshold  of  the  house  before  me.  Some  men 
would  have  run  up  the  stoop,  rung  the  bell  and  asked  to 
see  Mr.  Preston  on  some  pretended  business  he  could 
easily  conjure  up  to  suit  the  occasion,  but  my  face  is  too 
well  known  for  me  to  risk  any  such  attempt,  besides  I  was 
too  anxious  to  win  the  confidence  of  the  young  girl  to 
shock  her  awakened  sense  of  propriety  by  seeming  to  seek 
her  where  she  did  not  wish  to  be  found.  And  yet  I  must 
enter  that  house  and  see  for  myself  if  it  was  the  one  that 
held  her  on  that  memorable  evening. 

Pondering  the  question,  I  looked  back  at  the  door  so 
obstinately  closed  against  my  curiosity,  when  to  my  satisfac- 
tion and  delight  it  suddenly  opened  and  a  man  stepped  out, 
whom  I  instantly  recognized  as  a  business  agent  for  one  of 
the  largest  piano-forte  manufactories  in  the  city.  "The 
heavens  smile  upon  my  enterprise,"  thought  I,  and  waited  for 
the  man  to  come  up  with  me.  He  was  not  only  a  friend  of 
mine  but  largely  indebted  to  me  in  various  ways,  so  that  I 
knew  I  had  only  to  urge  a  request  for  it  to  be  immediately 
granted,  and  that,  too,  without  any  questions  or  gossip. 

You  will  not  be  interested  in  anything  but  the  result, 
which  was  somewhat  out  of  the  usual  course,  and  may  there- 
fore shock  you.  But  you  must  remember  that  I  am  telling 
you  of  matters  which  young  men  usually  keep  to  themselves, 
and  that  whatever  I  did,  was  accomplished  in  a  spirit  of 


TWO  MEN.  33 

respect  only  a  shade  less  constraining  in  its  power  than  the 
love  that  was  at  once  my  impelling  force,  and  my  constant 
embarrassment. 

To  come,  then,  to  the  point,  a  piano  was  to  be  set  up  in 
that  house  on  that  very  day,  Mr.  Preston  having  yielded  to 
the  solicitations  of  his  daughter  for  a  new  instrument.  My 
friend  was  to  be  engaged  in  the  transfer,  and  at  my  solicita- 
tion for  leave  to  assist  in  the  operation,  gave  his  consent  in 
perfect  confidence  as  to  my  possessing  good  and  sufficient 
reasons  for  such  a  remarkable  request,  and  appointed  the 
hour  at  which  I  was  to  meet  him  at  the  ware-rooms. 

Behold  me,  then,  at  half-past  two  that  afternoon,  assisting 
with  my  own  hands  in  carrying  a  piane  up  the  stoop  of  that 
house  which,  four  hours   before,  I  had  regarded  as  unap- 
proachable.    Dressed  in  a  workman's  blouse  and   with  my 
hair  well  roughened  under  a  rude  cap  that  effectually  dis- 
guised me,  I  advanced  with  but  little  fear  of  detection.    And 
yet  no  sooner  had  I  entered  the  house  and  seen  at  a  glance 
that  the  aspect  of  the  hall  coincided  with  my  rather  vague 
remembrance  of  that  through  which  I  had  been   ushered  a 
week  before,  than  I  was  struck  by  a  sudden  sense  of  my  sit- 
uation, and  experiencing  that  uncomfortable  consciousness 
of  self-betrayal,  which  a  blush  always  gives  a  man,  stum- 
bled forward  under  my  heavy  burden,  feeling  as  if  a  thou- 
sand eyes  were  fixed  upon  me  and  my  cherished  secret,  in- 
stead of  the  two  sharp  but  totally  unsuspicious  orbs  of  the 
elderly  matron  that  surveyed  us  from  the  top  of  the  banis- 
ters.    "  Be  careful  there,  you  '11  knock  a  hole  through  that 


34  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

glass  door !  "  though  a  natural  cry  under  the  circumstances, 
struck  on  my  ears  with  the  force  and  mysterious  po\ver  of  a 
secret  warning,  and  when  after  a  moment  of  blind  advance 
I  suddenly  lifted  my  eyes  and  found  myself  in  the  little  room, 
which  like  a  silhouette  on  a  white  ground,  stood  out  in  my 
memory  in  distinct  detail  as  the  spot  where  I  had  first  heard 
my  own  heart  beat,  I  own  that  I  felt  my  hands  slipping  from 
my  burden,  and  in  another  moment  had  disgraced  my  char- 
acter of  a  workman  if  I  had  not  caught  the  sudden  ring  of  a 
well  known  voice  in  the  hall,  as  nurse  answered  from  above 
some  question  propounded  by  the  elderly  lady  with  the 
piercing  eyes.  As  it  was,  I  recovered  myself  and  went 
through  my  duties  as_promptly  and  deftly  as  if  my  heart  did 
not  throb  with  memories  that  each  passing  hour  and  event 
only  served  to  hallow  to  my  imagination. 

At  length  the  piano  was  duly  set  up  and  we  turned  to 
leave.  Will  you  think  I  am  too  trivial  in  my  details  if  I  tell 
you  that  I  lingered  behind  the  rest  and  for  an  instant  let  my 
hand  with  all  its  possibilities  for  calling  out  a  soul  from  that 
dead  instrument,  lie  a  moment  on  the  keys  over  which  her 
dainty  fingers  were  so  soon  to  traverse. 


V. 

THE    RUBICON. 
"  I'll  stake  my  life  upon  her  faith." — OTHELLO. 

ONCE  convinced  of  the  identity  of  my  sweet  young 
friend  with  the  Miss  Preston  at  whose  feet  a  two  year  hence, 
the  wealth  and  aristocracy  of  New  York  would  be  kneeling, 
I  drew  back  from  further  effort  as  having  received  a  damper 
to  my  presumptious  hopes  that  would  soon  effectually  stifle 
them.  Everything  I  heard  about  the  family — and  it  seemed 
as  if  suddenly  each  chance  acquaintance  that  I  met  had 
something  to  say  about  Mr.  Preston  either  as  a  banker  or  a 
man,  only  served  to  confirm  me  in  this  view.  "  He  is  a 
money  worshipper,"  said  one.  "  The  bluest  of  blue  Presby- 
terians," declared  another.  "  The  enemy  of  presumption 
and  anything  that  looks  like  an  overweening  confidence  in 
one's  own  worth  or  capabilities,"  remarked  a  third.  "  A 
man  who  would  beggar  himself  to  save  the  honor  of  a  cor- 
poration with  which  he  was  concerned,"  observed  a  fourth 
"  but  who  would  not  invite  to  his  table  the  most  influential 
man  connected  with  it  if  that  man  was  .unable  to  trace  his 
family  back  to  the  old  Dutch  settlers  to  which  Mr.  Preston's 
own  ancestors  belonged." 

This  latter  statement  I  have  no  doubt  was  exaggerated 
for  I  myself  have  seen  him  at  dinners  where  half  the  gentle- 
men who  lifted  the  wine  glass  were  self-made  in  every  sense. 


36  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

of  the  term.  But  it  showed  the  bent  of  his  mind  and  it  was 
a  bent  that  left  me  entirely  out  of  the  sweep  of  his  acquaint- 
anceship much  less  that  of  his  exquisite  daughter,  the  pride 
of  his  soul  if  not  the  jewel  of  his  heart. 

But  when  will  a  man  who  has  seen  or  who  flatters  him- 
self that  he  has  seen  in  the  eyes  of  the  woman  he  admires, 
the  least  spark  of  that  fire  which  is  consuming  his  own  soul, 
pause  at  an  obstacle  which  after  all  has  its  basis  simply 
in  circumstances  of  position  or  will.  By  the  time  the  two 
weeks  of  her  expected  absence  had  expired,  I  had  settled  it 
in  my  own  mind  that  I  would  see  her  again  and  if  I  found 
the  passing  caprice  of  a  child  was  likely  to  blossom  into  the 
steady  regard  of  a  woman,  risk  all  in  the  attempt  to  win  by 
honorable  endeavor  and  persistence  this  bud  of  loveliness 
for  my  future  wife. 

How  I  finally  succeeded  by  means  of  my  friend  Farrar 
in  being  one  evening  invited  to  the  same  house  as  Miss 
Preston  it  is  not  necessary  to  state.  You  will  believe  me  it 
was  done  with  the  utmost  regard  for  her  feelings  and  in  a 
way  that  deceived  Farrar  himself,  who  if  he  is  the  most  pry- 
ing is  certainly  the  most  volatile  of  men.  In  a  crowded  par- 
lor, then,  in  the  midst  of  the  flash  of  diamonds  and  the  flut- 
ter of  fans  Miss  Preston  and  I  again  met.  When  I  first  saw 
her  she  was  engaged  in  conversation  with  some  young  com- 
panion, and  I  had  the  pleasure  of  watching  for  a  few  min- 
utes, unobserved,  the  play  of  her  ingenuous  countenance,  as 
she  talked  with  her  friend,  or  sat  silently  watching  the  brill- 
iant array  before  her.  I  found  her  like  and  yet  unlike  the 


TWO  MEN.  37 

vision  of  my  dreams.  More  blithesome  in  her  appearance, 
as  was  not  strange  considering  her  party  attire  and  the  lus- 
tre of  the  chandelier  under  which  she  sat,  there  was  still 
that  indescribable  something  in  her  expression  which  more 
than  the  flash  of  her  eye  or  the  curve  of  her  lip,  though 
both  were  lovely  to  me,  made  her  face  the  one  woman's  face 
in  the  world  for  me ;  a  charm  which  circumstances  might 
alter,  or  suffering  impair,  but  of  which  nothing  save  death 
could  ever  completely  divest  her  and  not  death  either,  for  it 
was  the  seal  of  her  individuality,  and  that  she  would  take 
with  her  into  the  skies. 

"  If  I  might  but  advance  and  sit  down  by  her  side  with- 
out a  word  of  explanation  or  the  interference  of  conven- 
tionalities how  happy  I  should  be,"  thought  I.  But  I  knew 
that  would  not  do,  so  I  contented  myself  with  my  secret 
watch  over  her  movements,  longing  for  and  yet  dreading  the 
advance  of  my  hostess,  with  its  inevitable  introduction.  'Sud- 
denly the  piano  was  touched  in  a  distant  room  and  not  till 
I  saw  the  quick  change  in  her  face,  a  change  hard  to  explain, 
did  I  recognize  the  selection  as  one  I  was  in  the  habit  of 
playing.  She  had  not  forgotten  at  least,  and  thrilled  by  the 
thought  and  the  remembrance  of  that  surge  of  color  which 
had  swept  like  a  flood  over  her  cheek,  I  turned  away,  feel- 
ing as  if  I  were  looking  on  what  it  was  for  no  man's  eyes  to 
see,  least  of  all  mine. 

My  hostess'  voice  arrested  me  and  next  moment  I  was 
bowing  to  the  ground  before  Miss  Preston. 

I  am  not  a  boy  ;  nor  have  I  been  without  my  experi- 


38  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

iences  :  life  with  its  vicissitudes  has  taught  me  many  a  les- 
son, subjected  me  to  many  a  trial,  yet  in  all  my  career  have 
I  never  known  a  harder  moment  than  when  I  raised  my 
eyes  to  meet  hers  after  that  lowly  obeisance.  That  she  would 
be  indignant  I  knew,  that  she  might  even  misinterpret  my 
motives  and  probably  withdraw  without  giving  me  an  oppor- 
tunity to  speak,  I  felt  to  be  only  too  probable,  but  that  she 
would  betray  an  agitation  so  painful  I  had  not  anticipated, 
and  for  an  instant  I  felt  that  I  had  hazarded  my  life's  hap- 
piness on  a  cast  that  was  going  against  me.  But  the  ne- 
cessity of  saving  her  from  remark  speedily  restored  me  to 
myself,  and  followng  the  line  of  conduct  I  had  previously 
laid  out,  I  addressed  her  with  the  reserve  of  a  stranger, 
and  neither  by  word,  look  or  manner  conveyed  to  her  a  sug- 
gestion that  we  had  ever  met  or  spoken  to  each  other  before. 
She  seemed  to  appreciate  my  consideration  and  though  she 
was  a's  yet  too  much  unused  to  the  ways  of  the  world  to 
completely  hide  her  perturbation,  she  gradually  regained  a 
semblance  of  self-possession,  and  ere  long  was  enabled  to  re- 
turn short  answers  to  my  remarks,  though  her  eyes  remained 
studiously  turned  aside  and  never  so  much  as  ventured  to 
raise  themselves  to  the  passing  throng  much  less  to  my  face, 
half  turned  away  also. 

Presently  however  a  change  passed  over  her.  Pressing 
her  two  little  hands  together,  she  drew  back  a  step  or  two, 
speaking  my  name  with  a  certain  tone  of  command.  Struck 
with  apprehension,  I  knew  not  why,  I  followed  her.  In- 
stantly like  one  repeating  a  lesson  she  spoke. 


TWO  MEX.  39 

"  It  is  very  good  in  you  to  talk  to  me  as  though  we  were 
the  strangers  that  people  believe  us.  I  appreciate  it  and 
thank  you  very  much.  But  it  is  not  being  just  true  ;  that 
is  I  feel  as  if  I  were  not  being  just  true,  and  as  we  can  never 
be  friends,  would  it  not  be  better  for  us  not  to  meet  in  this 
way  any  more  ?  " 

"And  why,"  I  gently  asked,  with  a  sense  of  struggling  for 
my  life,  "  can  we  never  be  friends  ?  " 

Her  answer  was  a  deep  blush  ;  not  that  timid  conscious 
appeal  of  the  blood  that  is  beating  too  warmly  for  reply,  but 
the  quick  flush  of  indignant  generosity  forced  to  do  despite 
to  its  own  instincts. 

"  That  is  a  question  I  would  rather  not  answer,"  she 
murmured  at  length.  "  Only  it  is  so  ;  or  I  should  not  speak 
in  this  way." 

"But,"  I  ventured,  resolved  to  know  on  just  what  foun- 
dations my  happiness  was  tottering,  "  you  will  at  least  tell 
me  if  this  harsh  decree  is  owing  to  any  offence  I  myself  may 
have  inadvertently  given.  The  honor  of  your  acquaint- 
ance," I  went  on,  determined  she  should  know  just  what  a 
hope  she  was  slaying,  "  is  much  too  earnestly  desired,  for  me 
to  wilfully  hazard  its  loss  by  saying  or  doing  aught  that  could 
be  in  any  way  displeasing  to  you." 

"  You  have  done  nothing  but  what  was  generous,"  said 
she  with  increasing  womanliness  of  manner,  "  unless  it  was 
taking  advantage  of  my  being  here,  to  learn  my  name  and 
gain  an  introduction  to  me  after  I  had  desired  you  to  forget 
my  very  existence." 


4O  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

I  recoiled  at  that,  the  chord  of  my  self-respect  was 
touched.  "  It  was  not  here  I  learned  your  name,  Miss  Pres- 
ton. It  has  been  known  to  me  for  two  weeks.  At  the  risk 
of  losing  by  your  displeasure  what  is  already  hazarded  by 
your  prudence,  I  am  bound  to  acknowledge  that  from  the 
hour  I  left  your  father's  house  that  night,  I  have  spared  no 
effort  compatible  with  my  deep  respect  for  your  feelings,  to 
ascertain  who  the  young  lady  was  that  had  done  me  such  an 
honor,  and  won  from  me  such  a  deep  regard.  I  had  not  in- 
tended to  tell  you  this,"  I  added,  "  but  your  truth  has  awak- 
ened mine,  and  whatever  the  result  may  be,  you  must  see  me 
as  I  am." 

"  You  are  very  kind,"  she  replied  governing  with  growing 
skill  the  trembling  of  her  voice.  "  The  acquaintance  of 
a  girl  of  sixteen  is  not  worth  so  much  trouble  on  the  part 
of  a  man  like  yourself."  And  blushing  with  the  vague  ap- 
prehension of  her  sex  in  the  presence  of  a  devotion  she 
rather  feels  than  understands,  she  waved  her  trembling 
little  hand  and  paused  irresolute,  seemingly  anxious  to  ter- 
minate the  interview  but  as  yet  too  inexperienced  to  know 
how  to  manage  a  dismissal  requiring  so  much  tact  and 
judgment. 

I  saw,  comprehended  her  position  and  hesitated.  She 
-was  so  young,  uncle,  her  prospects  in  life  were  so  bright;  if 
I  left  her  then,  in  a  couple  of  weeks  she  would  forget  me. 
What  was  I  that  I  should  throw  the  shadow  of  manhood's 
deepest  emotion  across  the  paradise  of  her  young  untram- 
melled being.  But  the  old  Adam  of  selfishness  has  his  say 


TWO  MEN.  41 

in  my  soul  as  well  as  in  that  of  my  fellow-men,  and  forget- 
ting myself  enough  to  glance  at  her  half  averted  face,  I 
could  not  remember  myself  sufficiently  afterwards  to  forego 
without  a  struggle,  all  hope  of  some  day  beholding  that  soft 
cheek  turn  in  confidence  at  my  approach. 

"  Miss  Preston,"  said  I,  "  the  promise  of  the  bud  atones 
for  its  folded  leaves."  Then  with  a  fervor  I  did  not  seek  to 
disguise,  "  You  say  we  cannot  be  friends  ;  would  your  de- 
cision be  the  same  if  this  were  our  first  meeting  ? " 

Again  that  flush  of  outraged  feeling.  "  I  don't  know — 
yes  I  think — I  fear  it  would." 

I  strove  to  help  her.  "  There  is  too  great  a  difference  be- 
tween Bertram  Mandeville  the  pianist,  and  the  daughter  of 
Thaddeus  Preston." 

She  turned  and  looked  me  gently  in  the  eye,  she  did  not 
need  to  speak.  Regret,  shame,  longing  flashed  in  her  steady 
glance. 

"  Do  not  answer,"  said  I,  "  I  understand  ;  I  am  glad  it  is 
circumstances  that  stand  in  the  way,  and  not  any  misconcep- 
tion on  your  part  as  to  my  motives  and  deep  consideration 
for  yourself.  Circumstances  can  be  changed."  And  satis- 
fied with  having  thus  dropped  into  the  fruitful  soil  of  that 
tender  breast,  the  seed  of  a  future  hope,  I  bowed  with  all  the 
deference  at  my  command  and  softly  withdrew. 

But  not  to  rest.  With  all  the  earnestness  with  which  a 
man  sets  himself  to  decide  upon  the  momentous  question  of 
life  or  death,  I  gave  myself  up  to  a  night  of  reflection,  and 
seated  in  my  solitary  bachelor  apartment,  debated  with  my- 


42  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

self  as  to  the  resolution  at  which  I-  had  dimly  hinted  in  my", 
parting  words  to  Miss  Preston. 

That  I  am  a  musician  by  nature,  my  success  with  the 
the  public  seems  to  indicate.  That  by  following  out  the 
line  upon  which  I  had  entered  I  would  attain  a  certain  emi- 
nence in  my  art,  I  do  not  doubt.  But  uncle,  there  are  two 
kinds  of  artists  in  this  world  ;  those  that  work  because  the 
spirit  is  in  them  and  they  cannot  be  silent  if  they  would,  and 
those  that  speak  from  a  conscientious  desire  to  make  appa- 
rent to  others  the  beauty  that  has  awakened  their  own  ad- 
miration. The  first  could  not  give  up  his  art  for  any  cause, 
without  the  sacrifice  of  his  soul's  life :  the  latter — well  the 
latter  could  and  still  be  a  man  with  his  whole  inner  being  in- 
tact. Or  to  speak  plainer,  the  first  has  no  choice,  while  the 
latter  has,  if  he  has  a  will  to  exert  it.  Now  you  will  say, 
and  the  world  at  large,  that  I  belong  to  the  former  class.  I 
have  risen  in  ten  years  from  a  choir  boy  in  Trinity  Church 
to  a  position  in  the  world  of  music  that  insures  me  a  full 
audience  wherever  and  whenever  I  have  a  mind  to  exert  my 
skill  as  a  pianist.  Not  a  man  of  my  years  has  a  more  prom- 
ising outlook  in  my  profession,  if  you  will  pardon  the  seem- 
ing egotism  of  the  remark,  and  yet  by  the  ease  with  which 
I  felt  I  could  give  it  up  at  the  first  touch  of  a  master  passion, 
I  know  that  I  am  not  a  prophet  in  my  art  but  merely  an  in- 
terpreter, one  who  can  speak  well  but  who  has  never  felt  the 
descent  of  the  burning  tongue  and  hence  not  a  sinner  against 
my  own  soul  if  I  turn  aside  from  the  way  I  am  walking. 
The  question  was,  then,  should  I  make  a  choice  ?  Love,  as 


TWO  MEN.  43 

;  you  say,  seems  at  first  blush  too  insecure  a  joy,  if  not  often 
too  trivial  a  one,  to  unsettle  a  man  in  his  career  and  change 
the  bent  of  his  whole  after  life ;  especially  a  love  born  of 
surprise  and  fed  by  the  romance  of  distance  and  mystery. 
Had  I  met  her  in  ordinary  intercourse,  surrounded  by  her 
friends  and  without  the  charm  cast  over  her  by  unwonted 
circumstances,  and  then  had  felt  as  I  did  now  that  of  all 
women  I  had  seen,  she  alone  would  ever  move  the  deep 
springs  of  my  being,  it  would  be  different.  But  with  this 
atmosphere  of  romance  surrounding  and  hallowing  her  girl's 
form  till  it  seemed  almost  as  ethereal  and  unearthly  as  that 
of  an  angel's,  was  I  safe  in  risking  fame  or  fortune  in  an  at- 
tempt to  acquire  what  in  the  possession  might  prove  as  bare 
and  commonplace  as  a  sweep  of  mountain  heather  stripped 
of  its  sunshine.  Curbing  every  erratic  beat  of  my  heart,  I 
summoned  up  her  image  as  it  bloomed  in  my  fancy,  and  sur- 
veying it  with  cruel  eyes,  asked  what  was  real  and  what  the 
fruit  of  my  own  imagination.  The  gentle  eye,  the  trembling 
lip,  the  girlish  form  eloquent  with  the  promise  of  coming 
womanhood, — were  these  so  rare,  that  beside  them  no  other 
woman  should  seem  to  glance  or  smile  or  move  ?  And  her 
words  !  what  had  she  said,  that  any  simple-minded,  modest 
yet  loving  girl  might  not  have  uttered  under  the  circumstan- 
ces. Surely  my  belief  in  her  being  the  one,  the  best  and  the 
dearest  was  a  delusion,  and  to  no  delusion  was  I  willing  to_ 
sacrifice  my  art.  But  straight  upon  that  conclusion  came 
sweeping  down  a  flood  of  counter-reasons.  If  not  the  wonder 
she  seemed,  she  was  at  least  a  wonder  to  me-  If  I  had  seen 


44  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

her  under  romantic  circumstances,  and  unconsciously  been 
influenced  by  them,  the  influence  had  remained  and  nothing 
would  ever  rob  her  form  of  the  halo  thus  acquired.  Whether 
I  ever  won  her  to  my  fireside  or  not,  she  must  always  re- 
main the  fairy  figure  of  my  dreams,  and  being  so,  the  gentle 
eye  and  tender  lip  acquired  a  value  that  made  them  what 
they  seemed,  the  exponent  of  love  and  happiness.  And 
lastly  if  love  well  or  illy  founded  was  an  uncertain  joy,  and 
the  passion  for  a  woman  a  poor  substitute  for  the  natural  in- 
centive of  talent  or  ambition,  this  love  had  within  it  the  be- 
ginning of  something  deeper  than  joy,  and  in  the  passion 
thus  cheaply  characterized,  dwelt  a  force  and  living  fire  that 
notwithstanding  all  I  have  hitherto  achieved,  has  ever  been 
lacking  from  my  dreams  of  endeavor. 

As  you  will  see,  the  most  natural  question  of  all  did  not 
disturb  me  in  these  cogitations  :  And  that  was,  whether  in 
making  the  sacrifice  I  proposed,  I  should  meet  with  the  re- 
ward I  had  promised  myself.  The  fancies  of  a  young  girl  of 
sixteen  are  not  usually  of  a  stable  enough  character  to  war- 
rant a  man  in  building  upon  them  his  whole  future  happi- 
ness, especially  a  young  girl  situated  like  Miss  Preston  in 
the  midst  of  friends  who  would  soon  be  admirers,  and  adula- 
tors who  would  soon  be  her  humble  slaves.  But  the  doubt 
which  a  serious  contemplation  of  this  risk  must  have  pre- 
sented, was  of  so  unnerving  a  character,  I  dared  not  ad- 
mit it.  If  I  made  the  sacrifice,  I  must  meet  with  my  reward. 
I  would  listen  to  no  other  conclusion.  Besides,  something 
in  the  young  girl  herself,  I  cannot  tell  what,  assured  me 


TWO  MEN.  45 

then  as  it  assures  me  now,  that  whatever  virtues  or  graces 
she  might  lack,  that  of  fidelity  to  a  noble  idea  was  not 
among  them  ;  that  once  convinced  of  the  purity  and  value 
of  the  flame  that  had  been  lit  in  her  innocent  breast,  noth- 
ing short  of  the  unworthiness  of  the  object  that  had  awak- 
ened it,  would  ever  serve  to  eliminate  or  extinguish  it.  That 
I  was  not  worthy  but  would  make  it  the  business  of  my  life 
to  become  so,  was  certain  ;  that  she  would  mark  my  endeav- 
ors and  bestow  upon  me  the  sympathy  they  deserved,  I  was 
equally  sure.  No  one  would  ever  make  such  a  sacrifice  to 
her  love  as  I  was  willing  to  do,  and  consequently  in  no  one 
would  I  find  a  rival. 

The  morning  light  surprised  me  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggle,  nor  did  I  decide  the  question  that  day.  Mr.  Pres- 
ton might  not  be  as  determined  in  his  prejudices  against 
musicians  as  my  friends  or  even  his  daughter  had  imagined. 
I  resolved  to  see  him.  Taking  advantage  of  his  connection 

with  the Club,  I  procured  an  introducer  in  the  shape  of 

a  highly  respected  person  of  his  own  class,  and  went  one 
evening  to  the  Club-rooms  with  the  full  intention  of  making 
his  acquaintance  if  possible.  He  was  already  there  and  in 
conversation  "with  some  business  associates.  Procuring  a 
seat  as  near  him  as  possible,  I  anxiously  surveyed  his  coun- 
tenance. It  was  not  a  reassuring  one,  and  studied  in  this 
way,  had  the  effect  of  dampening  any  hopes  I  may  have 
cherished  in  the  outset.  He  soften  to  the  sounds  of  sweet 
strains  or  the  voice  of  youthful  passion  !  As  soon  as  the 
granite  rock  to  the  surge  of  the  useless  billow.  His  very 


4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

necktie  spoke  volumes.  It  was  an  old  fashioned  stock,  full 
of  the  traditions  of  other  days,  while  his  coat,  shabbier  than 
any  I  would  presume  to  wear,  betrayed  in  every  well-worn 
seam  the  pride  of  the  aristocrat  and  millionaire  who  in  his 
native  city  and  before  the  eyes  of  his  fellow  magnates  does 
not  need  to  carry  the  evidences  of  his  respectability  upon  his 
back. 

"  It  would  be  worse  than  folly  for  me  to  approach  him  on 
such  a  subject,"  I  mentally  ejaculated.  "  If  he  did  not  stare 
the  musician  out  of  countenance  he  would  the  newly  risen 
man."  And  I  came  very  near  giving  up  the  whole  thing. 

But  the  genius  that  watches  over  the  affairs  of  true  love 
was  with  me  notwithstanding  the  unpropitious  state  of  my 
surroundings.  In  a  few  minutes  I  received  my  expected 
introduction  to  Mr.  Preston,  and  I  found  that  underneath 
the  repelling  austerity  of  his  expression,  was  a  kindly  spark 
for  youth,  and  a  decided  sympathy  for  all  instances  of  manly 
endeavor  if  only  it  was  in  a  direction  he  approved  ;  further 
that  my  own  personality  was  agreeable  to  him  and  that  he 
was  disposed  to  regard  me  with  favor  until  by  some  chance 
and  very  natural  allusion  to  my  profession  by  the  friend 
standing  between  us,  he  learned  that  I  was  a  musician,  when 
a  decided  change  came  over  his  countenance  and  he  ex- 
claimed in  that  blunt,  decisive  way  of  his  that  admits  of  no 
reply  : 

"  A  jingler  on  the  piano,  eh  ?  Pretty  poor  use  for  a  man 
to  put  his  brains  to,  I  say.  or  even  his  fingers.  Sorry  to  hear 
we  cannot  be  friends."  And  without  waiting  for  a  reply, 


TWO  MEN.  47 

took  my  introducer  by  the  arm  and  drew  him  a  step  or  so  to 
one  side.  "  Why  didn't  you  say  at  once  he  was  Mandeville 
the  musician,"  I  overheard  him  ask  in  somewhat  querulous 
tones.  "  Don't  you  know  I  consider  the  whole  race  of  them 
an  abomination.  I  would  have  more  respect  for  my  bank 
clerk  than  I  would  for  the  greatest  man  of  them  all,  were  it 
Rubenstein  himself."  Then  in  a  lower  tone  but  distinctly 
and  almost  as  if  he  meant  me  to  hear,  "  My  daughter  has  a 
leaning  towards  this  same  fol-de-rol  and  has  lately  requested 
my  permission  to  make  the  acquaintance  of  some  musical 
characters,  but  I  soon  convinced  her  that  manhood  under 
the  disguise  of  a  harlequin's  jacket  could  have  no  interest 
for  her ;  that  when  a  human  being,  man  or  woman  has  sunk 
to  be  a  mere  rattler  of  sweet  sounds,  he  has  reached  a  stage 
of  infantile  development  that  has  little  in  common  with  the 
nervous  energy  and  business  force  of  her  Dutch  ancestry. 
And  my  daughter  stoops  to  make  no  acquaintances  she  can- 
not bid  sit  at  her  father's  table." 

"Your  daughter  is  a  child  yet,  I  thought,"  was  ventured 
by  his  companion. 

"  Miss  Preston  is  sixteen,  just  the  age  at  which  my 
mother  gave  her  hand  to  my  respected  father  sixty-seven 
years  ago."  And  with  this  drop  of  burning  lead  let  fall 
into  my  already  agitated  bosom  they  passed  on. 

He  would  have  more  respect  for  his  bank  clerk  !  Would 
his  bank  clerk  or  what  was  better,  a  young  man  with  means 
at  his  command,  working  in  a  business  capacity  more  in  con- 
sonance with  the  tastes  he  had  evinced,  have  a  chance  of 


4§  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

winning  his  daughter  ?  I  began  to  think  he  might.  "  The 
way  grows  clearer  !  "  I  exclaimed. 

But  it  was  not  till  after  another  interview  with  him  ten 
minutes  later  in  the  lobby  that  I  finally  made  up  my  mind. 
He  was  standing  quite  alone  in  an  obscure  corner,  fumbling 
in  an  awkward  way  with  his  muffler  that  had  caught  on  the 
button  of  his  coat.  Seeing  it,  I  hastened  forward  to  his  as- 
sistance and  was  rewarded  by  a  kind  enough  nod  to  em- 
bolden me  to  say, 

"  I  have  been  introduced  to  you  as  a  musician  ;  would 
my  acquaintance  be  more  acceptable  to  you  if  I  told  you 
that  the  pursuit  of  art  bids  fair  in  my  case  to  yield  to 
the  exigencies  of  business  ?  That  I  purpose  leaving  the 
concert- room  for  the  banker's  office  and  that  henceforth  my 
only  ambition  promises  to  be  that  of  Wall  Street  ?  " 

"  It  most  certainly  would,"  exclaimed  he,  holding  out  his 
hand  with  an  unmistakable  gesture  of  satisfaction.  "  You 
have  too  good  a  countenance  to  waste  before  a  piano-top 
strumming  to  the  smirks  of  women  and  the  plaudits  of  weak- 
headed  men.  Let  us  see  you  at  the  desk,  my  lad.  We  are 
in  want  of  trustworthy  young  men  to  take  the  place  of  us 
older  ones."  Then  politely,  "  Do  you  expect  to  make  the 
change  soon  ?  " 

"  I  do,"  said  I. 

And  the  Rubicon  was  passed. 


VI. 

A  HAND  CLASP. 

"Fer.— Here's  my  hand. 
Mir.-A.nA  mine  with  my  heart  in  it."  —TEMPEST. 

ONCE  arrived  at  a  settled  conclusion,  I  put  every  thought 
of  wavering  out  of  my  mind.  Deciding  that  with  such  a 
friend  in  business  circles  as  yourself,  I  needed  no  other  in- 
troducer to  my  new  life,  I  set  apart  this  evening  for  a  con- 
fab with  you  on  the  subject.  Meanwhile  it  is  pretty  gener- 
ally known  that  I  make  no  more  engagements  to  appear 
through  the  country. 

I  have  but  one  more  incident  to  relate.  Last  Sunday  in 
walking  down  Fifth  Avenue  I  met  her.  I  did  not  do  this 
inadvertently.  I  knew  her  custom  of  attending  Bible  class 
and  for  once  put  myself  in  her  way.  I  did  not  give  her 
time  to  remonstrate. 

"  Do  not  express  your  displeasure,"  said  I,  "  this  shall 
never  be  repeated.  I  merely  wish  to  say  that  I  have  con- 
cluded to  leave  a  profession  so  little  appreciated  by  those 
whose  esteem  I  most  desire  to  possess  ;  that  I  am  about  en- 
tering a  banker's  office  where  it  shall  be  my  ambition  to  rise 
if  possible,  to  wealth  and  consequence.  If  I  succeed — you 
shall  then  know  what  my  incentive  has  been.  But  till  I  sue- 


50  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES, 

ceed  or  at  least  give  such  tokens  of  success  as  shall  insure 
respect,  silence  must  be  my  portion  and  patience  my  sole 
support.  Only  of  one  thing  rest  assured,  that  until  I  inform 
you  with  my  own  lips  that  the  hope  which  now  illumines  me 
is  gone,  it  will  continue  to  burn  on  in  my  breast,  shedding 
light  upon  a  way  that  can  never  seem  dark  while  that  glow 
rests  upon  it."  And  bowing  with  the  ceremonious  politeness 
our  positions  demanded,  I  held  out  my  hand.  "  One  clasp 
to  encourage  me,"  I  entreated. 

It  seemed  as  if  she  did  not  comprehend.  "  You  are  go- 
ing to  give  up  music,  and  for — for — " 

"You?"  said  I.  "Yes,  don't  forbid  me,"  I  implored; 
"  it  is  too  late." 

Like  a  lovely  image  of  blushing  girlhood  turned  by  a 
lightning  flash  into  marble,  she  paused,  pallid  and  breathless 
where  she  was,  gazing  upon  me  with  eyes  that  burned  deeper 
and  deeper  as  the  full  comprehension  of  all  that  this  implied 
gradually  forced  itself  upon  her  mind. 

"You  make  a  chaos  of  my  little  world,"  she  murmured 
at  length. 

"  No,"  said  I,  ""your  world  is  untouched.  If  it  should 
never  be  my  good  fortune  to  enter  it,  you  are  not  to  grieve. 
You  are  free,  Miss  Preston,  free  as  this  sunshiny  air  we 
breathe ;  I  alone  am  bound,  and  that  because  I  must  be 
whether  I  will  or  no." 

Then  I  saw  the  woman  I  had  worshipped  in  this  young 
fair  girl  shine  fully  and  fairly  upon  me.  Drawing  herself 
up,  she  looked  me  in  the  face  and  calmly  laid  her  hand  in 


TWO  MEN.  51 

mine.  "  I  am  young,"  said  she,  "  and  do  not  know  what 
may  be  right  to  say  to  one  so  generous  and  so  kind.  But 
this  much  I  can  promise,  that  whether  or  not  I  am  ever  able 
to  duly  reward  you  for  what  you  undertake,  I  will  at  least 
make  it  the  study  of  my  life  never  to  prove  unworthy  of  so 
much  trust  and  devotion." 

And  with  the  last  lingering  look  natural  to  a  parting  for 
years,  we  separated  then  and  there,  and  the  crowd  came  be- 
tween us,  and  the  Sunday  bells  rang  on,  and  what  was  so 
vividly  real  to  us  at  the  moment,  became  in  remembrance 
more  like  the  mist  and  shadow  of  a  dream. 


VII. 

MRS.    SYLVESTER. 

Love  is  more  pleasant  than  marriage,  for  the  same  reason  that  romances  are 
more  amusing  than  history.  — CHAMFORT. 

"  He  draweth  out  the  thread  of  his  verbosity,  finer  than  the  staple  of  his  argu- 
ment" — LOVES  LABOR  LOST. 

YOUNG  Mandeville  having  finished  his  story,  looked  at 
his  uncle.  He  found  him  sitting  in  an  attitude  of  extreme 
absorption,  his  right  arm  stretched  before  him  on  the  table, 
his  face  bent  thoughtfully  downwards  and  clouded  with  that 
deep  melancholy  that  seemed  its  most  natural  expression, 
"  He  has  not  heard  me,"  was  the  young  man's  first  mortify- 
ing reflection.  But  catching  his  uncle's  eye  which  at  that 
moment  raised  itself,  he  perceived  he  was  mistaken  and  that 
he  had  rather  been  listened  to  only  too  well. 

"  You  must  forgive  me  if  I  have  seemed  to  rhapsodize," 
the  young  man  stammered.  "  You  were  so  quiet  I  half  for- 
got I  had  a  listener  and  went  on  much  as  I  would  if  I  had 
been  thinking  aloud." 

His  uncle  smiled  and  throwing  off  the  weight  of  his  re- 
flections whatever  they  might  be,  arose  and  began  pacing 
the  floor.  "  I  see  you  are  past  surgery,"  quoth  he,  "  any 
wisdom  of  mine  would  be  only  thrown  away." 


TWO  MEN.  53 

Young  Mandeville  was  hurt.  He  had  expected  some 
token  of  approval  on  his  uncle's  part,  or  at  least  some  be- 
trayal of  sympathy.  His  looks  expressed  his  disappoint- 
ment. 

"  You  expected  to  convert  me  by  this  story,"  continued 
the  elder,  pausing  with  a  certain  regret  before  his  nephew  ; 
"  nothing  could  convert  me  but — " 

"What?  "  inquired  Mandeville  after  waiting  in  vain  for 
the  other  to  finish. 

"  Something  which  we  will  never  find  in  the  whirl  of 
New  York  fashionable  life.  A  woman  with  faith  to  reward 
and  soul  to  understand  such  unqualified  trust  as  yours." 

"  But  I  believe  Miss  Preston  is  such  a  girl  and  will  be 
such  a  woman.  Her  looks,  her  last  words  prove  it." 

"  Nothing  proves  it  but  time  and  as  for  your  belief,  I 
have  believed  too."  Then  as  if  fearing  he  had  said  too 
much,  assumed  his  most  business-like  tone  and  observed, 
"  But  we  will  drop  all  that ;  you  have  resolved  to  quit  music 
and  enter  Wall  Street,  your  object  money  and  the  social  con- 
sideration which  money  secures.  Now,  why  Wall  Street  ?  " 

"  Because  I  can  think  of  no  other  means  for  attaining 
what  I  desire,  in  the  space  of  time  I  would  consent  to  keep 
a  young  lady  of  Miss  Preston's  position  waiting." 

"  Humph  !  and  you  have  money,  I  suppose,  which  you 
propose  to  risk  on  the  hazard  ?  " 

"  Some  !  enough  to  start  with ;  a  small  amount  to  you, 
but  sufficient  if  I  am  fortunate." 

"  And  if  you  are  not  ?  " 


54  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

The  young  man  opened  his  arms  with  an  expressive  ges- 
ture, "  I  am  done  for,  that  is  all." 

"  Bertram,"  his  uncle  exclaimed  with  a  change  of  tone, 
"  has  it  ever  struck  you  that  Mr.  Preston  might  have  as 
strong  a  prejudice  against  speculation  as  against  the  musical 
profession  ?  " 

"  No,  that  is,  pardon  me  but  I  have  sometimes  thought 
that  even  in  the  event  of  success  I  should  have  to  struggle 
against  his  inherited  instincts  of  caste  and  his  natural  dis- 
like of  all  things  new,  even  wealth,  but  I  never  thought  of 
the  possibility  of  my  arousing  his  distrust  by  speculating 
in  stocks  and  engaging  in  enterprises  so  nearly  in  accord 
with  his  own  business  operations." 

"  Yet  if  I  guess  aright  you  would  run  greater  risk  of  los- 
ing the  support  of  his  countenance  by  following  the  hazard- 
ous course  you  propose,  than  if  you  continued  in  the  line  of 
art  that  now  engages  you." 

"  Do  you  know — " 

"  I  know  nothing,  but  I  fear  the  chances,  Bertram." 

"  Then  I  am  already  defeated  and  must  give  up  my 
hopes  of  happiness." 

A  smile  thin  and  indefinable  crossed  the  other's  face. 
"  No,"  said  he,  "not  necessarily."  And  sitting  down  by  his 
nephew's  side,  he  asked  if  he  had  any  objections  to  enter  a 
bank.  "  In  a  good  capacity,"  he  exclaimed. 

"  No  indeed  ;  it  would  be  an  opportunity  surpassing  my 
hopes.  Do  you  know  of  an  opening  ?  " 

"  Well,"  said  he,  "  under  the  circumstances  I  will  let  you 


TWO   MEN.  55 

into  the  secret  of  my  own  affairs.  I  have  always  had  one 
ambition,  and  that  was  to  be  at  the  head  of  a  bank.  I  have 
not  said  much  about  it,  but  for  the  last  five  years  I  have 
been  working  to  this  end,  and  to-day  you  see  me  the  pos- 
sessor of  at  least  three-fourths  of  the  stock  of  the  Madison 
Bank.  It  has  been  deteriorating  for  Some  time,  consequently 
I  was  enabled  to  buy  it  low,  but  now  that  I  have  got  it  I  in- 
tend to  build  up  the  concern.  I  am  able  to  throw  business 
of  an  important  nature  in  its  way,  and  I  dare  prophesy  that 
before  the  year  is  out  you  will  see  it  re-established  upon  a 
solid  and  influential  footing." 

"  I  have  no  doubt  of  it,  sir ;  you  have  the  knack  of  suc- 
cess, any  thing  that  you  touch  is  sure  to  go  straight." 

"  Unhappily  yes,  as  far  as  business  operations  go.  But 
no  matter  about  that ; — "  as  if  the  other  had  introduced 
some  topic  incongruous  to  the  one  they  were  considering 
— "  the  point  is  this.  In  two  weeks  time  I  shall  be  elected 
President  of  the  Bank  ;  if  you  will  accept  the  position  of 
assistant  cashier, — the  best  I  can  offer  in  consideration  of 
your  total  ignorance  of  all  details  of  the  business, — it  is  open 
to  you — " 

"  Uncle  !  how  generous  !  I — " 

"  Hush  !  your  duties  will  be  nominal,  the  present  cashier 
is  fully  competent  ;  but  the  leisure  thus  afforded  will  offer 
you  abundant  opportunity  to  make  yourself  acquainted  with 
all  matters  connected  with  the  banking  system  as  well  as 
with  such  capitalists  as  it  would  be  well  for  you  to  know. 
So  that  when  the  occasion  comes,  I  can  raise  you  to  the  cash- 


56  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

ier's  place  or  make  such  other  disposal  of  your  talents  as 
will  best  insure  your  rapid  advance-" 

The  young  man's  eyes  sparkled  ;  with  a  sudden  impet- 
uous movement  he  jumped  to  his  feet  and  grasped  his  un- 
cle's hand.  "  I  can  never  thank  you  enough  ;  you  have 
made  me  your  debtor  for  life.  Now  let  any  one  ask  me  who 
is  my  father,  and  I  will  say — " 

"  He  was  Edward  Sylvester's  brother.  But  come,  come, 
this  extreme  gratitude  is  unnecessary.  You  have  always 
been  a  favorite  with  me,  Bertram,  and  now  that  I  have  no 
child,  you  seem  doubly  near  ;  it  is  my  pleasure  to  do  what  I 
can  for  you.  But — "  and  here  he  surveyed  him  with  a  wist- 
ful look,  "  I  wish  you  were  entering  into  this  new  line  from 
love  of  the  business  rather  than  love  of  a  woman.  I  fear  for 
you  my  boy.  It  is  an  awful  thing  to  stake  one's  future  upon 
a  single  chance  and  that  chance  a  woman's  faith.  If  she 
should  fail  you  after  you  had  compassed  your  fortune,  should 
die — well  you  could  bear  that  perhaps  ;  but  if  she  turned  false, 
and  married  some  one  else,  or  even  married  you  and  then — " 

"What?  "  came  in  silvery  accents  from  the  door,  and  a 
woman  richly  clad,  her  trailing  velvets  filling  the  air  at  once 
with  an  oppressive  perfume,  entered  the  room  and  paused 
before  them  in  an  attitude  meant  to  be  arch,  but  which  from 
the '  massiveness  of  her  figure  and  the  scornful  carriage  of 
her  head,  succeeded  in  being  simply  imperious. 

Mr.  Sylvester  rose  abruptly  as  if  unpleasantly  surprised. 
"  Ona  !  "  he  exclaimed,  hastening,  however,  to  cover  his  em- 
barassment  by  a  courteous  acknowledgement  of  her  presence 


TWO  M£Ar.  57 

and  a  careless  remark  concerning  the  shortness  of  the  ser- 
vices that  had  allowed  her  to  return  from  church  so  early. 
"  I  did  not  hear  you  come  in,"  he  observed. 

"No,  I  judge  not,"  she  returned  with  a  side  glance  at 
Mandeville.  "  But  the  services  were  not  short,  on  the  con- 
trary I  thought  I  should  never  hear  the  last  amen.  Mr. 
Turner's  voice  is  very  agreeable,"  she  went  on,  in  a  rambling 
manner  all  her  own,  "  it  never  interferes  with  your  thoughts ; 
not  that  I  am  considered  as  having  any,"  she  interjected 
with  another  glance  at  their  silent  guest,  "  a  woman  in  society 
with  a  reputation  for  taste  in  all  matters  connected  with  fash- 
ionable living,  has  no  thoughts  of  course  ;  business  men  with 
only  one  idea  in  their  heads,  that  of  making  money,  have 
more  no  doubt.  Do  you  know,  Edward,"  she  went  on  with 
sudden  inconsequence,  which  was  another  trait  of  this  amia- 
ble lady's  conversation,  "that  I  have  quite  come  to  a  con- 
clusion in  regard  to  the  girl  Philip  Longtree  is  going  to 
marry  ;  she  may  be  pretty,  but  she  does  not  know  how  to 
dress.  I  wish  you  could  have  seen  her  to-night  ;  she  had  on 
mauve  with  old  gold  trimmings.  Now  with  one  of  her  com- 
plexion— But  I  forget  you  haven't  seen  her.  Bertram,  I 
think  I  shall  give  a  German  next  month,  will  you  come  ? 
Oh,  Edward  !  "  as  if  the  thought  had  suddenly  struck  her, 
"  Princess  Louise  is  the  sixth  child  of  Queen  Victoria ;  I 
asked  Mr.  Turner  to-night.  By  the  way,  I  wonder  if  it  will 
be  pleasant  enough  to  take  the  horses  out  to-morrow  ?  Bird 
has  been  obliging  enough  to  get  sick  just  in  the  height  of  the 
season,  Mr.  Mandeville.  There  are  a  thousand  things  I 


$8  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

have  got  to  do  and  I  hate  hired  horses."  And  with  a  petu- 
lant sigh  she  laid  her  prayer-book  on  the  table  and  with  a 
glance  in  the  mirror  near  by,  began  pulling  off  her  gloves  in 
the  slow  and  graceful  fashion  eminently  in  keeping  with  her 
every  movement. 

It  was  as  if  an  atmosphere  of  worldliness  had  settled 
down  upon  this  room  sanctified  a  moment  before  by  the  ut- 
terances of  a  pure  and  noble  love.  Mr  Sylvester  looked  un- 
easy, while  Bertram  searched  in  vain  for  something  to  say. 

"I  seem  to  have  brought  a  blight,"  she  suddenly  mur- 
mured in  an  easy  tone  somewhat  at  variance  with  the  glance 
of  half  veiled  suspicion  which  she  darted  from  under  her 
heavy  lids,  at  first  one  and  then  the  other  of  the  two  gentle- 
men before  her.  "  No,  I  will  not  sit,"  she  added  as  her  hus- 
band offered  her  a  chair.  "  I  am  tired  almost  to  death  and 
would  retire  immediately,  but  I  interrupted  you  I  believe  in 
the  utterance  of  some  wise  saying  about  matrimony.  It  is 
an  interesting  subject  and  I  have  a  notion  to  hear  what  one 
so  well  qualified  to  speak  in  regard  to  it — "  and  here  she 
made  a  slow,  half  lazy  courtesy  to  her  husband  with  a  look 
that  might  mean  anything  from  coquetry  to  defiance — "  has 
to  say  to  a  young  man  like  Mr.  Mandeville." 

Edward  Sylvester  who  was  regarded  as  an  autocrat 
among  men,  and  who  certainly  was  an  acknowledged  leader 
in  any  company  he  chose  to  enter,  bowed  his  head  before  this 
anomalous  glance  with  a  gesture  of  something  like  submission. 

"  One  is  not  called  upon  to  repeat  every  inadvertent 
phrase  he  may  utter,"  said  he.  "  Bertram  was  consulting 
me  upon  certain  topics  and — " 


TWO  MEN.  59 

**  You  answered  him  in  your  own  brilliant  style,"  she  con- 
cluded. "  What  did  you  say  ?  "  she  asked  in  another  mo- 
ment in  a  low  unmoved  tone  which  the  final  act  of  smooth- 
ing out  her  gloves  on  the  table  with  hands  delicate  as  white 
rose  leaves  but  firm  as  marble,  did  not  either  hasten  or  re- 
tard. 

"  Oh  if  you  insist,"  he  returned  lightly,  "  and  are  willing 
to  bear  the  reflection  my  unfortunate  remark  seems  to  cast 
upon  the  sex,  I  was  merely  observing  to  my  nephew,  that 
the  man  who  centered  all  his  hopes  upon  a  woman's  faith, 
was  liable  to  disappointment.  Even  if  he  succeeded  in  mar- 
rying her  there  were  still  possibilities  of  his  repenting  any 
great  sacrifice  made  in  her  behalf." 

"  Indeed  ! "  and  for  once  the  delicate  cheek  flushed 
deeper  than  its  rouge.  "  And  why  do  you  say  this  ? "  she 
inquired,  dropping  her  coquettish  manner  and  flashing  upon 
them  both,  the  haughty  and  implacable  woman  Bertram  had 
always  believed  her  to  be,  notwithstanding  her  vagaries  and 
fashion. 

"  Because  I  have  seen  much  of  life  outside  my  own 
house,"  her  husband  replied  with  undiminished  courtesy  ; 
"and  feel  bound  to  warn  any  young  man  of  his  probable 
fate,  who  thinks  to  find  nothing  but  roses  and  felicity  be- 
yond the  gates  of  fashionable  marriage." 

"  Ah  then,  it  was  on  general  principles  you  were  speak- 
ing," she  remarked  with  a  soft  laugh  that  undulated  through 
an  atmosphere  suddenly  grown  too  heavy  for  easy  breath- 
ing. "  I  did  not  know  ;  wives  are  so  little  apt  to  be  appre- 


60  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES, 

ciated  in  this  world,  Mr.  Mandeville,  I  was  afraid  he  might 
be  giving  you  some  homely  advice  founded  upon  personal 
experience."  And  she  moved  towards  their  guest  with  that 
strange  smile  of  hers  which  some  called  dangerous  but  which 
he  had  always  regarded  as  oppressive. 

She  saw  him  drop  his  eyes,  and  smiled  again,  but  in  a 
different  way.  This  woman,  whom  no  one  accused  of  any- 
thing worse  than  levity,  hailed  every  tribute  to  her  power,  as 
a  miser  greets  the  glint  of  gold.  With  a  turn  of  her  large 
but  elegant  figure  that  in  its  slow  swaying  reminded  you  of 
some  heavy  tropical  flower,  hanging  inert,  intoxicated  with 
its  own  fragrance,  she  dismissed  at  once  the  topic  that  had 
engaged  them,  and  launched  into  one  of  her  choicest  streams 
of  inconsequent  talk.  But  Mandeville  was  in  no  mood  to 
listen  to  trivialities,  and  being  of  a  somewhat  impatient  na- 
ture, presently  rose  and  excusing  himself,  took  a  hurried 
leave.  Not  so  hurried  however  that  he  did  not  have  time  to 
murmur  to  his  uncle  as  they  walked  towards  the  door  : 

"  You  would  make  comparison  between  the  girl  I  wor- 
ship and  other  women  in  fashionable  life.  Do  not  I  pray  ; 
she  is  no  more  like  them  than  a  star  that  shines  is  like  a  rose 
that  blooms.  My  fate  will  not  be  like  that  of  most  men  that 
we  know,  but  better  and  higher." 

And  his  uncle  standing  there  in  the  grand  hall-way,  with 
the  fresh  splendors  of  unlimited  wealth  gleaming  upon  him 
from  every  side,  looked  after  the  young  man  with  a  sigh  and 
repeated,  "  Better  and  higher  ?  God  in  his  merciful  good- 
ness grant  it." 


VIII. 

SHADOWS   OF   THE    PAST. 

"  Memory,  the  warder  of  the  brain." 

MACBETH. 

IT  was  long  past  midnight.  The  fire  in  the  grate  burned 
dimly,  shedding  its  lingering  glow  on  the  face  of  the  master 
of  the  house  as  with  bowed  head  and  folded  hands  he  sat 
alone  and  brooding  before  its  dying  embers. 

It  was  a  lonesome  sight  The  very  magnificence  of  the 
spacious  apartment  with  its  lofty  walls  and  glittering  works 
of  art,  seemed  to  give  an  air  of  remoteness  to  that  solitary 
form,  bending  beneath  the  weight  of  its  reflections.  From 
the  exquisitely  decorated  ceiling  to  the  turkish  rugs  scattered 
over  the  polished  floor,  all  was  eleganj:  and  luxurious,  and 
what  had  splendors  like  these  to  do  with  thoughts  that  bent 
the  brows  and  overshadowed  the  lips  of  man  ?  The  very 
lights  burned  deprecatingly,  illuminating  beauties  upon  which 
no  eye  gazed  and  for  which  no  heart  beat.  The  master  him- 
self seemed  to  feel  this,  for  he  presently  rose  and  put  them 
out,  after  which  he  seated  himself  as  before,  only  if  possible 
with  more  abandon,  as  if  with  the  extinguishing  of  the  light 
some  eye  had  been  shut  whose  gaze  he  had  hitherto  feared. 
And  in  truth  my  lady's  image  shone  fainter  from  its  heavy 


62  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

panel,  and  the  smile  which  had  met  with  unrelenting  sweet- 
ness the  glare  of  the  surrounding  splendor,  softened  in  the 
mellow  glimmer  of  the  fire-light  to  an  etherial  halo  that  left 
you  at  rest. 

One,  fa'0,  THREE,  the  small  clock  sounded  from  the  mantel 
and  yet  no  stir  took  place  in  the  sombre  figure  keeping 
watch  beneath.  What  were  the  thoughts  which  could  thus 
detain  from  his  comfortable  bed  a  man  already  tired  with 
manifold  cares  ?  It  would  be  hard  to  tell.  The  waters  that 
gush  at  the  touch  of  the  diviner's  rod  are  tumultuous  in 
their  flow  and  rush  hither  and  thither  with  little  heed  to  the 
restraining  force  of  rule  and  reason.  But  of  the  pictures 
that  rose  before  his  eyes  in  those  dying  embers,  there  were 
two  which  stood  out  in  startling  distinctness.  Let  us  see  if 
we  can  convey  the  impression  of  them  to  other  eyes  and 
hearts. 

First,  the  form  of  his  mother.  Ah  grey-bearded  men 
weighted  with  the  cares  of  life  and  absorbed  in  the  monot- 
onous round  of  duties  that  to  you  are  the  be  all  and  end  all 
of  existence,  to  whom  morning  means  a  jostling  ride  to  the 
bank,  the  store  or  the  office,  and  with  whom  night  is  but  the 
name  for  a  worse  unrest  because  of  its  unfulfilled  promises 
of  slumber,  what  soul  amongst  you  all  is  so  callous  to  the 
holy  memories  of  childhood,  as  not  to  thrill  with  something 
of  the  old  time  feeling  of  love  and  longing  as  the  memory  of 
that  tender  face  with  its  watchful  eye  and  ready  smiles,  comes 
back  to  you  from  the  midst  of  weary  years  !  Your  mother  ! 

But  Edward  Sylvester  with  that  black  line  across  his  life 


TWO  MEN.  63 

cutting  past  from  present,  what  makes  him  think  of  his 
mother  to-night ;  and  the  cottage  door  upon  the  hillside 
where  she  used  to  stand  with  eager  eyes  looking  up  and 
down  the  road  as  he  came  trudging  home  from  school,  swing- 
ing his  satchel  and  shouting  at  every  squirrel  that  started 
across  the  road  or  peeped  from  the  branches  of  the  grand 
old  maples  overhead  !  And  the  garret-chamber  under  the 
roof,  the  scene  of  many  a  romp  with  Elsie  and  Sonsie  and 
Jack,  neighbors'  children  to  whom  the  man  of  to-day  would 
be  an  awe  and  a  mystery  !  And  the  little  room  where  he 
slept  with  Tom  his  own  blue-eyed  brother  so  soon  to  die 
of  a  wasting  disease,  but  full  of  warm  blood  then  and  all 
alive  with  boyish  pranks.  He  could  almost  hear  the  wild 
clear  laugh  with  which  the  mischievous  fellow  started  upon 
its  travels,  the  rooster  whose  legs  he  had  tied  a  short  space 
apart  with  one  of  Sonsie's  faded  ribbons,  a  laugh  that  became 
unrestrained  when  the  poor  creature  in  attempting  to  run 
down  hill,  rolled  over  and  over,  cutting  such  a  figure  before 
his  late  admirers,  the  hens,  that  even  Elsie  smiled  in  the 
midst  of  her  gentle  entreaties.  And  Jocko  the  crow,  whom 
taming  had  made  one  of  the  boys !  poor  Jocko  !  is  it  nearly 
thirty  years  since  you  used  to  stalk  in  majesty  through  the 
village  streets,  with  your  neat  raven  coat  closely  buttoned 
across  your  breast  and  your  genteel  caw,  caw,  and  conde- 
scending nod  for  old  acquaintances  ?  The  day  seems  but  as 
yesterday  when  you  marred  the  stolen  picnic  up  in  the 
woods  by  flying  off  with  a  flock  of  your  fellow  black-coats, 
nor  is  it  easy  to  realize  that  the  circle  of  tow-headed  fellows 


64  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

who  hailed  with  shouts  your  ignominious  return  after  a  day  or 
so's  experience  of  the  vaunted  pleasures  of  freedom,  are  now 
sharp  featured  men  without  a  smile  for  youth  or  a  thought 
beyond  the  hard  cold  dollar  buried  deep  in  their  pockets. 

And  the  church  up  over  the  hills  !  and  the  long  Sunday 
walk  at  mother's  side  with  the  sunshine  glowing  on  the  dusty 
road  and  beating  on  the  river  flowing  far  beyond  !  The 
same  road,  the  same  river  of  Monday  and  Tuesday  but  how 
different  it  looked  to  the  boy  ;  almost  like  another  scene,  as 
if  Sunday  clothes  were  on  the  world  as  well  as  upon  his  rest- 
less little  limbs.  How  he  longed  for  it  to  be  Monday  though 
he  did  not  say  so  ;  and  what  a  different  day  Saturday  would 
have  been  if  only  there  was  no  long,  sleepy  Sunday  to  fol- 
low it. 

But  the  mother !  She  did  not  dread  that  day.  Her 
eyes  used  to  brighten  when  the  bell  began  to  ring  from  the 
old  church  steeple.  Her  eyes  !  how  they  mingled  with  every 
picture  !  They  seemed  to  fill  the  night.  What  a  sparkle 
they  had,  yet  how  they  used  to  soften  at  his  few  hurried 
caresses.  He  was  always  too  busy  for  kisses ;  there  were  the 
snares  in  the  north  woods  to  be  looked  after ;  the  nest  in 
the  apple-tree  to  be  inquired  into  ;  the  skates  to  be  ground 
before  the  river  froze  over;  the  nuts  to  be  gathered  and 
stored  in  that  same  old  garret  chamber  under  the  eaves. 
But  now  how  vividly  her  least  look  comes  back  to  the  tired 
man,  from  the  glance  of  wistful  sympathy  with  which  she 
met  his  childish  disappointments  to  the  flash  of  joy  that 
hailed  his  equally  childish  delights. 


TWO  MEN.  65 

And  another  scene  there  is  in  the  embers  to-night ;  a  re- 
membrance of  later  days  when  the  mother  with  her  love  and 
yearning  was  laid  low  in  the  grave,  and  manhood  had  learned 
its  first  lessons  of  passion  and  ambition  from  the  glance  of 
younger  eyes  and  the  smile  of  riper  lips.  Not  the  picture  of 
a  woman,  however  ;  that  was  already  present  beside  him, 
shining  from  its  panel  with  an  insistence  that  not  even  the 
putting  out  of  the  lights  could  quite  quench  or  subdue,  but 
of  a  child  young,  pure  and  beautiful,  sitting  by  the  river  in 
the  glow  of  a  June  sunshine,  gazing  at  the  hills  of  his  boy- 
hood's home  with  a  look  on  her  face  such  as  he  had  never 
before  seen  on  that  of  child  or  woman.  A  simple  picture 
with  a  simple  villager's  daughter  for  its  centre,  but  as  he 
mused  upon  it  to-night,  the  success  and  triumph  of  the  last 
ten  years  faded  from  his  sight  like  the  ashes  that  fell  at  his 
feet,  and  he  found  himself  questioning  in  vain  as  to  what 
better  thing  he  had  met  in  all  the  walks  of  h'is  busy  life  than 
that  young  child's  innocence  and  faith  as  they  shone  upon 
him  that  day  from  her  soft  uplifted  eyes. 

He  had  been  sitting  the  whole  warm  noontide  at  the 
side  of  her  whose  half  gracious,  half  scornful,  wholly  indo- 
lent acceptance  of  his  homage,  he  called  love,  and  enervated 
by  an  atmosphere  he  was  as  yet  too  inexperienced  to  recog- 
nize as  of  the  world,  worldly,  had  strolled  forth  to  cool  his 
fevered  brow  in  the  fresh  autumn  breeze  that  blew  up  from 
the  river.  He  was  a  gay-hearted  youth  in  those  days,  heed- 
less of  everything  but  the  passing  moment ;  nature  meant 
little  to  him  ;  and  when  in  the  course  of  his  ramble  he  came 


66  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

upon  the  form  of  a  child  sitting  on  the  edge  of  the  river,  he 
remembers  wondering  what  she  saw  in  a  sweep  of  empty 
water  to  interest  her  so  deeply.  Indeed  he  was  about  to  in- 
quire when  she  turned  and  he  caught  a  glimpse  of  her  eyes 
and  knew  at  once  without  asking.  Yet  in  those  days  he  was 
anything  but  quick  to  recognize  the  presence  of  feeling.  A 
face  was  beautiful  or  plain  to  him,  not  eloquent  or  express- 
ive. But  this  child's  countenance  was  exceptional.  It 
made  you  forget  the  cotton  frock  she  wore,  it  made  you  for- 
get yourself.  As  he  gazed  on  it,  he  felt  the  stir  of  something 
in  his  breast  he  had  never  known  before,  and  half  dreaded 
to  hear  her  speak  lest  the  charm  should  fail  or  the  influence 
be  lost.  Yet  how  could  he  pass  on  and  not  speak.  Laying 
his  hand  on  her  head,  he  asked  her  what  she  was  thinking  of 
as  she  sat  there  all  alone  looking  off  on  the  river  ;  and  the 
wee  thing  drew  in  her  breath  and  surveyed  him  with  all  her 
soul  in  her  great  black  eyes  before  she  replied  ,  "  I  do  not 
know,  I  never  know."  Then  looking  back  she  dreamily 
added,  "  It  makes  me  want  to  go  away,  miles  away," — and 
she  held  out  her  tiny  arms  towards  the  river  with  a  longing 
gesture  ;  "and  it  makes  me  want  to  cry." 

And  he  understood  or  thought  he  did  and  for  the  first 
time  in  his  life  looked  upon  the  river,  that  had  met  his  gaze 
from  childhood,  with  eyes  that  saw  its  exceeding  beauty. 
Ah  it  was  an  exquisite  scene,  a  rare  scene,  mountain  melting 
into  mountain  and  meadow  vanishing  into  meadow,  till  the 
flow  of  silver  waters  was  lost  in  a  horizon  of  azure  mist.  No 
wonder  that  a  child  without  snares  to  set  or  nuts  to  gather, 


TWO  MEN.  67 

should  pause  a  moment  to  gaze  upon  it,  as  even  he  in  the 
days  gone  by  would  sometimes  stop  on  Sabbath  eves  to 
snatch  a  kiss  from  his  mother's  lips. 

"  It  is  like  a  fairy  land,  is  it  not  ?  "  quoth  the  child  look- 
ing up  into  his  face  with  a  wistful  glance.  "  Do  you  know 
what  it  is  that  makes  me  feel  so  ?  " 

He  smiled  and  sat  down  by  her  side.  Somehow  he  felt 
as  if  a  talk  with  this  innocent  one  would  restore  him  more 
than  a  walk  on  the  hills.  "  It  is  the  spirit  of  beauty,  my 
child,  you  are  moved  by  the  loveliness  of  the  scene ;  is  it  a 
new  one  to  you  ?  " 

"  No,  oh  no,  but  I  always  feel  the  same.  As  if  some- 
thing here  was  hungry,  don't  you  know  ?  "  and  she  laid  her 
little  hand  on  her  breast. 

He  did  not  know,  but  he  smiled  upon  her  notwithstand- 
ing, and  made  her  talk  and  talk  till  the  gush  of  the  sweet 
child  spirit  with  its  hidden  longings  and  but  half  understood 
aspirations,  bathed  his  whole  being  in  a  reviving  shower,  and 
he  felt  as  if  he  had  wandered  into  a  new  world  where  the 
languors  of  the  tropics  were  unknown,  and  passion,  if  there 
was  such,  had  the  wings  of  an  eagle  instead  of  the  siren's 
voice  and  fascination. 

Her  name  was  Paula,  she  said,  and  before  leaving  he 
found  that  she  was  a  relative  of  the  woman  he  loved.  This 
was  a  slight  shock  to  him.  The  lily  and  the  cactus  abloom 
on  one  stalk !  How  could  that  be  ?  and  for  a  moment  he 
felt  as  if  the  splendors  of  the  glorious  woman  paled  before 
the  lustre  of  the  innocent  child.  But  the  feeling,  if  it  was 


68  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

strong  enough  to  be  called  such,  soon  passed.  As  the  days 
swept  by  bringing  evenings  with  light  and  music  and  whis- 
pered words  beneath  the  vine-leaves,  the  remembrance  of 
.the  pure,  sweet  hour  beside  the  river,  gradually  faded  till 
only  a  vague  memory  of  that  gentle  uplifted  face  sweet  with 
its  childish  dimples,  remained  to  hallow  now  and  then  a 
a  passing  reverie  or  a  fevered  dream. 

But  to-night  its  every  lineament  filled  his  soul,  vying  with 
the  memories  of  his  mother  in  its  vividness  and  power.  O 
why  had  he  not  learned  the  lesson  it  taught.  Why  had  he 
turned  his  back  upon  the  high  things  of  life  to  yield  himself 
to  a  current  that  swept  him  on  and  on  until  the  power  of  re- 
sistence  left  him  and  —  O  dwell  not  here  wild  thoughts  ! 
Pause  not  on  the  threshold  of  the  one  dark  memory  that 
blasts  the  soul  and  sears  the  heart  in  the  secret  hours  of 
night.  Let  the  dead  past  bury  its  dead  and  if  one  must 
think,  let  it  be  of  the  hope,  which  the  remembrance  of  that 
short  glimpse  into  a  pure  if  infantile  soul  has  given  to  his 
long  darkened  spirit. 

One,  two,  three,  FOUR  ;  and  the  fire  is  dead  and  the 
night  has  grown  chill,  but  he  heeds  it  not.  He  has  asked 
himself  if  his  life's  book  is  quite  closed  to  the  higher  joys  of 
existence  ?  whether  money  getting  and  money  holding  is  to 
absorb  him  body  and  soul  forever  ;  and  with  the  question  a 
great  yearning  seizes  him  to  look  upon  that  sweet  child 
again,  if  haply  in  the  gleam  of  her  pure  spirit,  something  of 
the  noble  and  the  pure  that  lay  beneath  the  crust  of  life 
might  be  again  revealed  to  his  longing  sight. 


TWO  MEN.  69 

"  She  must  be  a  great  girl  now,"  murmured  he  to  him- 
self, "  as  old  as  if  not  older  than  she  whom  Bertram  adores 
so  passionately,  but  she  will  always  be  a  child  to  me,  a  sweet 
pure  child  whose  innocence  is  my  teacher  and  whose  igno- 
rance is  my  better  wisdom.  If  anything  will  save  me — " 

But  here  the  shadow  settled  again;  when  it  lifted,  the 
morning  ray  lay  cool  and  ghostly  over  the  hearthstone. 


IX. 


PAULA. 

"  The  stars  of  midnight  shall  be  dear 
To  her  ;  and  she  shall  lean  her  ear 
In  many  a  secret  place 

Where  rivulets  dance  their  wayward  round, 
And  beauty  born  of  murmuring  sound 
Shall  pass  into  her  face." 

—WORDSWORTH. 

A  WINTRY  scene.  Snow-piled  hills  stretching  beyond  a 
frozen  river.  On  the  bank  a  solitary  figure  tall,  dark  and 
commanding,  standing  with  eyes  bent  sadly  on  a  long  narrow 
mound  at  his  feet.  It  is  Edward  Sylvester  and  the  mound 
is  the  grave  of  his  mother. 

It  is  ten  years  since  he  stood  upon  that  spot.  In  all  that 
time  no  memories  of  his  childhood's  home,  no  recollection  of 
that  lonely  grave  among  the  pines,  had  been  sufficient  to 
allure  him  from  the  city  and  its  busy  round  of  daily  cares. 
Indeed  he  had  always  shrunk  at  the  very  name  of  the  place 
and  never  of  his  own  will  alluded  to  it,  but  the  reveries  of  a 
night  had  awakened  a  longing  that  was  not  to  be  appeased, 
and  in  the  face  of  his  wife's  cold  look  of  astonishment  and  a 
secret  dread  in  his  own  heart,  had  left  his  comfortable  fire- 
side, for  the  scenes  of  his  early  life  and  marriage,  and  was 


TWO  MEN.  71 

now  standing,  in  the  bleak  December  air,  gazing  down  upon 
the  stone  that  marked  his  mother's  grave. 

But  tender  as  were  the  chords  that  reverberated  at  this 
sight,  it  was  not  to  revisit  this  tomb  he  had  returned  to 
Grotewell.  No,  that  other  vision,  the  vision  of  young  sweet 
appreciative  life  has  drawn  him  more  strongly  than  the 
memory  of  the  dead.  It  was  to  search  out  and  gaze  again 
upon  the  innocent  girl,  whose  eloquent  eyes  and  lofty  spirit 
had  so  deeply  moved  him  in  the  past,  that  he  had  braved 
the  chill  of  the  Connecticut  hills  and  incurred  the  displeas- 
ure of  his  wife. 

Yet  when  he  turned  away  from  that  simple  headstone  and 
set  his  face  towards  the  village  streets  it  was  with  a  sinking 
of  the  heart  that  first  revealed  to  him  the  severity  of  the  or- 
deal to  which  he  had  thus  wantonly  subjected  himself.  Not 
that  the  wintry  trees  and  snow  covered  roofs  appealed  to  him 
as  strongly  as  the  same  trees  and  homes  would  have  done  in 
their  summer  aspect.  The  land  was  bright  with  verdure  when 
that  shadow  fell  whose  gloom  resting  upon  all  the  landscape, 
made  a  walk  down  this  quiet  road  even  at  this  remote  day,  a 
matter  of  such  pain  to  him.  But  scenes  that  have  caught 
the  reflection  of  a  life's  joy  or  a  heart's  sorrow,  lose  not  their 
power  of  appeal,  with  the  leaves  they  shake  from  their  trees, 
and  nothing  that  had  met  the  eyes  of  this  man  from  the 
hour  he  left  this  spot,  no,  not  the  glance  of  his  wife  as  his, 
child  fell  back  dead  in  his  arms,  had  shot  such  a  pang  to  his 
soul  as  the  sight  of  that  long  street  with  its  array  of  quiet 
homes,  stretching  out  before  him  into  the  dim  grey  distance. 


?2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES, 

But  for  all  that  he  was  determined  to  traverse  it,  ay  to 
the  very  end,  though  his  steps  must  pass  the  house  whose 
ghostly  portals  were  fraught  with  memories  dismal  as  death 
to  him.  On  then  he  proceeded,  walking  with  his  usual 
steady  pace  that  only  faltered  or  broke,  as  he  met  the  shy 
eyes  of  some  hurrying  village  maiden,  speeding  upon  some 
errand  down  the  snowy  street,  or  encountered  some  old 
friend  of  his  youth  who  despite  his  altered  mien  and  com- 
manding carriage,  recognized  in  him  the  slim  young  bank 
cashier  who  had  left  them  now  ten  long  years  ago  to  make  a 
name  and  fortune  in  the  great  city. 

It  was  noon  by  the  time  he  gained  the  heart  of  the  vil- 
lage, and  school  was  out  and  the  children  came  rushing  by 
with  just  the  same  shout  and  scamper  with  which  he  used  to 
hail  that  hour  of  joyous  release.  How  it  carried  him  back  . 
to  the  days  when  those  four  red  walls  towered  upon  him 
with  awful  significance,  as  with  books  on  his  back  and  a  half 
eaten  apple  in  his  pocket  he  crept  up  the  walk,  conscious 
that  the  bell  had  rung  its  last  shrill  note  a  good  half  hour 
before.  He  felt  half  tempted  to  stop  and  make  his  way 
through  the  crowd  of  shouting  boys  and  dancing  girls  to 
that  same  old  door  again,  and  see  for  himself  if  the  huge 
LATE  which  in  a  fit  of  childish  revenge  he  had  cut  on  its 
awkward  panels,  was  still  there  to  meet  the  eyes  of  tardy 
boys  and  loitering  girls.  But  the  wondering  looks  of  the 
children  unused  to  behold  a  figure  so  stately  in  their  simple 
streets  deterred  him  and  he  passed  thoughtfully  on.  So 
engrossed  was  he  by  the  reminiscences  of  Tom  and  Elsie 


TWO  MEN.  73 

which  the  school  house  had  awakened,  that  he  passed  the 
ominous  mansion  which  had  been  his  dread,  and  the  bank 
where  he  had  worked,  and  the  arbor  by  the  side  of  the  road 
where  he  had  sat  out  the  first  hours  of  his  fatal  courtship, 
almost  without  realizing  their  presence,  and  was  at  the  end 
of  the  street  and  in  full  view  of  the  humble  cottage  which 
the  little  Paula  had  pointed  out  as  her  home  on  that  day  of 
their  first  acquaintance. 

"  Good  heaven  !  and  I  do  not  even  know  if  she  is  alive," 
he  suddenly  ejaculated,  stopping  where  he  was  and  eying 
the  lowly  walls  before  him  with  a  quick  realization  of  the 
possibilities  of  a  great  disappointment.  "  Ten  years  have 
strown  many  a  grave  on  the  hillside  and  Ona  would  not 
mention  it  if  she  lost  every  relative  she  had  in  this  town. 
What  a  fool  I  have  been,"  thought  he. 

But  with  the  stern  resolution  which  had  carried  him 
through  many  a  difficulty,  he  prepared  to  advance,  when  he 
was  again  arrested  by  seeding  the  door  of  the  house  he  was 
contemplating,  suddenly  open  and  a  girlish  figure  issue  forth. 
Could  it  be  Paula  ?  With  eager,  almost  feverish  interest  he 
watched  her  approach.  She  was  a  slight  young  thing  and 
came  towards  him  with  a  rapid  movement  almost  jaunty 
in  its  freedom.  If  it  were  Paula,  he  would  know  her  by  her 
eyes,  but  for  some  reason  he  hoped  it  was  not  she,  not  the 
child  of  his  dreams. 

At  a  yard  or  two  in  front  of  him  she  paused  astonished. 
This  grave,  tall  figure  with  the  melancholy  brow,  deep  eyes 
and  firmly  compressed  lips  was  an  unaccustomed  sight  in 


74  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

this  primitive  town.  Scarcely  realizing  what  she  did  she 
gave  a  little  courtesy  and  was  proceeding  on  when  he 
stopped  her  with  a  hurried  gesture. 

"  Is  Mrs.  Fairchild  still  living?  "  he  asked,  indicating  the 
house  she  had  just  left. 

"  Mrs.  Fairchild  ?  O  no,"  she  returned,  surveying  him 
out  of  the  corner  of  a  very  roguish  pair  of  brown  eyes,  with  a 
certain  sly  wonder  at  the  suspense  in  his  voice.  "  She  has 
been  dead  as  long  as  I  can  remember.  Old  Miss  Abby  and 
her  sister  live  there  now." 

"  And  who  are  they  ?  "  he  hurriedly  asked  ;  he  could 
not  bring  himself  to  mention  Paula's  name. 

"  Why,  Miss  Abby  and  Miss  Belinda,"  she  returned  with 
a  puzzled  air.  "  Miss  Abby  sews  and  Miss  Belinda  teaches 
the  school.  I  don't  know  anything  more  about  them,  sir." 

The  courteous  gentleman  bowed.  "  And  they  live  there 
quite  alone  ?  " 

"  O  no  sir,  Paula  lives  with  them." 

"Ah,  she  does;"  and  the  young  girl  looking  at  him 
could  not  detect  the  slightest  change  in  his  haughty  counte- 
nance. "  Paula  is  Mrs.  Fairchild's  daughter." 

"  Yes,  sir." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  he,  and  allowed  the  pretty  brown- 
eyed  miss  to  pass  on,  which  she  did  with  lingering  footsteps 
and  many  a  backward  glance  of  the  eye. 

Halting  at  the  door  of  that  small  cottage,  Edward  Syl- 
vester reasoned  with  himself. 

"  She  may  be  just  such  another  fresh-looking,    round- 


TWO  MEN.  75 

faced,  mischievous-eyed  school-girl.  Spiritual  children  do 
not  always  make  earnest-souled  women.  Let  me  beware 
what  hopes  I  build  on  a  foundation  so  unsubstantial."  Yet 
when  in  a  moment  later  the  door  opened  and  a  weazen- 
faced  dapper,  little  woman  appeared,  all  smiles  and  welcome, 
he  owned  to  a  sensation  of  dismay  that  sufficiently  convinced 
him  what  a  hold  this  hope  of  meeting  with  something  excep- 
tionally sweet  and  high,  had  taken  upon  his  hitheuo  careless 
and  worldly  spirit. 

"  Mr.  Sylvester  I  am  sure  !  I  thought  Ona  would  re- 
member us  after  a  while.  Come  in  sir,  do,  my  sister  will  be 
home  in  a  few  moments."  And  with  a  deprecatory  flutter 
comical  enough  in  a  woman  at  least  seventy  odd  years  old, 
she  led  her  distinguished  guest  into  a  large  unu?ed  room 
where  in  spite  of  his  remonstrances  she  at  once  proceeded 
to  build  a  fire. 

"  It  is  a  pleasure  sir,"  she  said  to  every  utterance  of  re- 
gret on  his  part  at  the  trouble  he  was  causing.  And  though 
her  vocabulary  was  thus  made  to  appear  somewhat  small, 
her  sincerity  was  undoubted.  "  We  have  counted  the  days, 
Belinda  and  I,  since  we  sent  the  last  letter.  It  may  seem 
foolish  to  you,  sir;  but  Paula  is  growing  so  fast  and  Belinda 
says  is  so  uncommon  smart  for  her  age  that  we  did  think 
that  it  was  time  Ona  knew  just  what  a  straight  we  were  in. 
Do  you  want  to  see  Paula  ? " 

"  Very  much,"  he  returned,  shocked  and  embarrassed  at 
the  position  in  which  he  found  himself  put  by  the  reticence 
of  his  wife  on  the  subject  of  her  relations.  "  They  think  I 


76  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

have  come  in  reply  to  a  letter,"  he  mused,  "  and  I  did  not 
even  know  my  wife  had  received  one." 

"  You  will  be  surprised,"  she  exclaimed  with  a  compla- 
cent nod  as  the  fire  blazed  up  brightly;  "  every  one  is  sur- 
prised who  sees  her  for  the  first  time.  Is  my  niece  well  ?  " 
And  thus  it  was  he  learned  the  relation  between  his  wife  of 
ten  years  and  these  simple  inhabitants  of  the  little  cottage 
in  G  rote  well. 

He  replied  as  in  duty  bound,  and  presently  by  the  use  of 
a  few  dexterous  questions  succeeded  in  eliciting  from  this 
simple-minded  old  lady,  the  few  facts  necessary  to  a  proper 
understanding  of  the  situation.  Miss  Abby  and  Miss  Be- 
linda were  two  maiden  ladies,  sisters  of  Mrs.  Fairchild 
and  Ona's  mother,  who  on  the  death  of  the  former  took 
up  their  abode  in  the  little  cottage  for  the  purpose  of  bring- 
ing up  the  orphan  Paula.  They  had  succeeded  in  this  by 
dint  of  the  utmost  industry,  but  Paula  was  not  a  common 
child,  and  Belinda,  who  was  evidently  the  autocrat  of  the 
house,  had  decided  that  she  ought  to  have  other  advantages. 
She  had  therefore  written  to  Mrs.  Sylvester  concerning  the 
child,  in  the  hopes  that  that  lady  would  take  enough  interest 
in  her  pretty  little  cousin  to  send  her  to  boarding-school ; 
but  they  had  received  no  reply  till  now,  all  of  which  was  per- 
fectly right  of  course,  Mrs.  Sylvester  being  undoubtedly  occu- 
pied and  Mr.  Sylvester  himself  being  better  than  any  letter. 

"  And  does  Paula  herself  know  'what  efforts  you  have 
been  making  in  her  behalf,  "asked  Mr.  Sylvester  upon  the 
receipt  of  this  information. 


TWO  MEN.  77 

The  little  lady  shook  her  head  with  vivacity.  "  Belinda 
advised  me  to  say  nothing,"  she  remarked.  "  The  child  is 
contented  with  her  home  and  we  did  not  like  to  raise  her  ex- 
pectations. You  will  never  regret  anything  you  may  do  for 
her,"  she  went  on  in  a  hurried  way  with  a  peep  now  and 
then  towards  the  door  as  if  while  enjoying  a  momentary 
freedom  of  speech,  she  feared  an  intrusion  that  would  cut 
that  pleasure  short.  "  Paula  is  a  grateful  child  and  never 
has  given  us  a  moment  of  concern  from  the  time  she  began 
to  put  pieces  of  patchwork  together.  But  there  is  Belinda," 
she  suddenly  exclaimed,  rising  with  the  little  dip  and  jerk  of 
her  left  shoulder  that  was  habitual  to  her  whenever  she  was 
amused  or  excited.  "  Belinda,"  she  cried,  going  to  the  door 
and  speaking  with  great  impressiveness,  "  Mr.  Sylvester  is 
in  the  parlor."  And  almost  instantly  a  tall  middle  aged 
lady  entered,  whose  plain  but  powerful  countenance  and 
dignified  demeanor,  stamped  her  at  once  as  belonging  to  a 
very  different  type  of  woman  from  her  sister. 

"  I  am  very  glad  to  see  you  sir,"  she  exclaimed  in  a  slow 
determined  voice  as  dissimilar  as  possible  from  the  piping 
tones  of  Miss  Abby.  "  Is  not  Mrs.  Sylvester  with  you  ?  " 

"  No,"  returned  he,  "  I  have  come  alone  ;  my  wife  is  not 
fond  of  travelling  in  winter." 

The  slightest  gleam  shot  from  her  bright  keen  eye.  "  Is 
she  not  well  ?  " 

"Yes  quite  well,  but  not  over  strong,"  he  rejoined 
quietly. 

She  gave  him  another  quick  look,  settled  some  matter 


?8  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

with  herself  and  taking  off  her  bonnet,  sat  down  by  the 
fire.  At  once  her  sister  ceased  in  her  hovering  about  the 
room  and  sitting  also,  became  to  all  appearance  her  silent 
shadow. 

"  Paula  has  gone  up  stairs  to  take  off  her  bonnet,"  the 
younger  woman  said  in  a  straightforward  manner  just  short 
of  being  brusque.  "  She  is  a  very  remarkable  girl,  Mr.  Syl- 
vester, a  genius  I  suppose  some  would  call  her,  a  child  of 
nature  I  prefer  to  say.  Whatever  there  is  to  be  learned  in 
this  town  she  has  learned.  And  in  a  place  where  nature 
speaks  and  good  books  abound  that  is  not  inconsiderable. 
I  have  taken  pride  in  her  talents  I  acknowledge,  and  have 
endeavored  to  do  what  I  could  to  cultivate  them  to  the  best 
advantage.  There  is  no  girl  in  my  school  who  can  write  so 
original  a  composition,  nor  is  there  one  with  a  truer  heart 
or  more  tractable  disposition." 

"  You  have  then  been  her  teacher  as  well  as  her  friend, 
she  owes  you  a  double  debt  of  gratitude." 

A  look  hard  to  understand  flashed  over  her  homely  face. 
"  I  have  never  thought  of  debt  or  gratitude  in  connection 
with  Paula.  The  only  effort  which  I  have  ever  made  in  her 
behalf  which  cost  me  anything,  is  this  one  which  threatens 
me  with  her  loss."  Then  as  if  fearing  she  had  said  too 
much,  set  her  firm  lips  still  firmer  and  ignoring  the  subject 
of  the  child,  astonished  him  by  certain  questions  on  the 
leading  issues  of  the  day  that  at  once  betrayed  a  truly  virile 
mind. 

"  She  is  a  study,"  thought  he  to  himself,  but  meeting  her 


TWO  MEN.  79 

on  the  ground  she  had  taken,  replied  at  once  and  to  her  evi- 
dent satisfaction  in  the  direct  and  simple  manner  that  ap- 
peals the  most  forcibly  to  a  strong  if  somewhat  unpolished 
understanding,  while  the  meek  little  Miss  Abby  glanced 
from  one  to  the  other  with  a  humble  awe  more  indicative  of 
her  appreciation  for  their  superiority  than  of  her  compre- 
hension of  the  subject. 

But  what  with  Miss  Belinda's  secret  anxiety  and  Mr. 
Sylvester's  unconscious  listening  for  a  step  upon  the  stair, 
the  conversation,  brisk  as  it  had  opened,  gradually  lan- 
guished, and  ere  long  with  a  sort  of  clairvoyant  understand- 
ing of  her  sister's  wishes,  Miss  Abby  arose  and  with  her 
customary  jerk  left  the  room  for  Paula. 

"  The  child  is  not  timid  but  has  an  unaccountable  aver- 
sion to  entering  the  presence  of  strangers  alone,"  Miss  Be- 
linda explained  ;  but  Mr.  Sylvester  did  not  hear  her,  for  at 
that  moment  the  door  re-opened  and  Miss  Abby  stepped  in 
with  the  young  girl  thus  heralded. 

Edward  Sylvester  never  forgot  that  moment,  and  indeed 
few  men  could  have  beheld  the  picture  of  extraordinary 
loveliness  thus  revealed,  without  a  shock  of  surprise  equal 
to  the  delight  it  inspired.  She  was  not  pretty ;  the  very 
word  was  a  misnomer,  she  was  simply  one  of  nature's  most 
exquisite  and  undeniable  beauties.  From  the  crown  of  her 
ebon  locks  to  the  sole  of  her  dainty  foot,  she  was  perfect  as 
the  most  delicate  coloring  and  the  utmost  harmony  of  con- 
tour could  make  her.  And  not  in  the  conventional  type 
either.  There  was  an  individuality  in  her  style  that  was  as 


80  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

fresh  as  it  was  uncommon.  She  was  at  once  unique  and 
faultless,  something  that  can  be  said  of  few  women  however 
beautiful  or  alluring. 

Mr.  Sylvester  had  not  expected  this,  as  indeed  how 
could  he,  and  for  a  moment  he  could  only  gaze  with  a  cer- 
tain swelling  of  the  heart  at  the  blooming  loveliness  that  in 
one  instant  had  transformed  the  odd  little  parlor  into  a 
bower  fit  for  the  habitation  of  princes.  But  soon  his  natural 
self-possession  returned,  and  rising  with  his  most  courteous 
bow,  he  greeted  the  blushing  girl  with  words  of  simple  wel- 
come. 

Instantly  her  eyes  which  had  been  hitherto  kept  bent 
upon  the  floor  flashed  upward  to  his  face  and  a  smile  full  ot 
the  wonder  of  an  unlocked  for,  almost  unhoped  for  delight, 
swept  radiantly  over  her  lips,  and  he  saw  with  deep  and  sud- 
den satisfaction  that  the  hour  which  had  made  such  an  im- 
pression upon  him,  had  not  been  forgotten  by  her  ;  that  his 
voice  had  recalled  what  his  face  failed  to  do,  and  that  he 
was  recognized. 

"  It  is  Mr.  Sylvester,  your  cousin  Ona's  husband,"  Miss 
Belinda  interposed  in  a  matter-of-fact  way,  evidently  attrib- 
uting the  emotion  of  the  child  to  her  astonishment  at  the  im- 
posing appearance  of  their  guest. 

"And  it  was  you  who  married  Ona  !  "  she  involuntarily 
murmured,  blushing  the  next  moment  at  this  simple  utter- 
ance of  her  thoughts. 

"  Yes,  dear  child,"  Mr.  Sylvester  hastened  to  say. 
"  And  so  you  remember  me  ?  "  he  presently  added,  smil- 


TWO  MEN.  8 1 

ing  down  upon  her  with  a  sense  of  new  life  that  for  the 
moment  made  every  care  and  anxiety  shrink  into  the  back- 
ground. 

"  Yes,"  she  simply  returned,  taking  the  chair  beside  him 
with  the  unconscious  grace  of  perfect  self-forgetfulness. 
"  It  was  the  first  time  I  had  found  any  one  to  listen  to  my 
childish  enthusiasms  ;  it  is  natural  such  kindness  should 
make  its  impression." 

"  Little  Paula  and  I  met  long  ago,"  quoth  Mr.  Sylvester 
turning  to  the  somewhat  astonished  Miss  Belinda.  "  It  was 
before  my  marriage  and  she  was  then — " 

"Just  ten  years  old,"  finished  Paula,  seeing  him  cast  her 
an  inquiring  glance. 

"  Very  young  for  such  a  thoughtful  little  miss,"  he  ex- 
claimed. "  And  have  those  childish  enthusiasms  quite  de- 
parted ?  "  he  continued,  smiling  upon  her  with  gentle  encour- 
agement. "  Do  you  no  longer  find  a  fairy-land  in  the  view 
up  the  river? " 

She  flushed,  casting  a  timid  glance  at  her  aunt,  but  meet- 
ing his  eyes  again  seemed  to  forget  everything  and  every- 
body in  the  inspiration  which  his  presence  afforded. 

"  I  fear  I  must  acknowledge  that  it  is  more  a  fairy-land 
to  me  than  ever,"  she  softly  replied.  "  Knowledge  does 
not  always  bring  disillusion,  and  though  I  have  learned 
one  by  one  the  names  of  the  towns  scattered  along  those 
misty  banks,  and  though  I  know  they  are  no  less  prosaic  in 
their  character  than  our  own  humdrum  village,  yet  I  cannot 
rid  myself  of  the  notion  that  those  verdant  slopes  with  their 


82  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

archway  of  clouds,  hide  the  portals  of  Paradise,  and  that  I 
have  only  to  follow  the  birds  in  their  flight  up  the  river  to 
find  myself  on  the  verge  of  a  mystery,  the  banks  at  my  feet 
can  never  disclose." 

"  May  the  gates  of  God's  Paradise  never  recede  as  those 
would  do,  my  child,  if  like  the  birds  you  attempted  to  pierce 
them." 

"  Paula  is  a  dreamer,"  quoth  Miss  Belinda  in  a  matter-of- 
fact  tone,  "  but  she  is  a  good  girl  notwithstanding  and  can 
solve  a  geometrical  problem  with  the  best." 

"And  sew  on  the  machine  and  make  a  very  good  pie," 
timidly  put  in  Miss  Abby. 

"  That  is  well,"  laughed  Mr.  Sylvester,  observing  that  the 
poor  child's  head  had  fallen  forward  in  maidenly  shame  at 
her  aunts'  elogiums  as  well  as  at  the  length  of  the  speech 
into  which  she  had  been  betrayed.  "  It  shows  that  her  eyes 
can  see  what  is  at  hand  as  well  as  what  is  beyond  our  reach." 
Then  with  a  touch  of  his  usual  formal  manner  intended  to 
restore  her  to  herself,  "  Do  you  like  study,  Paula  ?  " 

In  an  instant  her  eyes  flashed.  "  I  more  than  like  it ;  it 
feeds  me.  Knowledge  has  its  vistas  too,"  she  added  with 
an  arch  look,  the  first  he  had  seen  on  her  hitherto  serious 
countenance.  "  I  can  never  outgrow  my  recognition  of  the 
portals  it  discloses  or  the  fairy-land  it  opens  up  to  every  in- 
quiring eye." 

"  Even  geometry,"  he  ventured,  more  anxious  to  probe 
this  fresh  young  mind  than  he  had  ever  been  to  sound  the 
opinions  of  the  most  notable  men  of  the  day. 


TWO  MEN.  83 

"  Even  geometry,"  she  smiled.  "  To  be  sure  its  portals 
are  somewhat  methodical  in  shape,  allowing  no  scope  to  the 
fancy,  but  from  its  triangles  and  circles  have  been  born  the 
grandeurs  of  architecture,  and  upright  on  the  threshold  of 
its  exact  laws  and  undeviating  calculations,  I  see  an  angel 
with  a  golden  rod  in  his  hand,  measuring  the  heavens." 

"  Even  a  stone  speaks  to  a  poet,"  said  Mr.  Sylvester  with 
a  glance  at  Miss  Belinda. 

"  But  Paula  is  no  poet,"  returned  that  lady  with  strict 
and  impartial  honesty.  "  She  has  never  put  a  line  on  paper 
to  my  knowledge.  Have  you  child  ?" 

"  No  aunt,  I  would  as  soon  imprison  a  falling  sunbeam  or 
try  to  catch  the  breeze  that  lifts  my  hair  or  kisses  my  cheek." 

"  You  see,"  continued  Mr.  Sylvester  still  looking  at  Miss 
Belinda. 

She  answered  with  a  doubtful  shake  of  the  head  and  an 
earnest  glance  at  the  girl  as  if  she  perceived  something  in 
that  bright  young  soul,  that  even  she  had  never  observed 
before. 

"  Have  you  ever  been  away  from  home  ?  "  he  now  asked. 

"  Never,  I  know  as  little  of  the  great  world  as  a  callow 
nestling.  No,  I  should  not  say  that,  for  the  young  bird  has 
no  Aunt  Belinda  to  tell  of  the  great  cathedrals  and  the  won- 
derful music  she  has  heard  and  the  glorious  pictures  she  has 
seen  in  her  visits  to  the  city.  It  is  almost  as  good  as  trav- 
elling one's  self  to  hear  Aunt  Belinda  talk." 

It  was  now  the  turn  of  the  mature  plain  woman  to  blush; 
which  she  did  under  Mr.  Sylvester's  searching  eye. 


84  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  You  have  then  been  in  the  habit  of  visiting  New 
York  ? " 

"  I  have  been  there  twice,"  she  returned  evasively. 

'  Since  my  marriage  ?  " 

"  Yes  sir;  "  with  a  firm  closing  of  her  lips. 

"  I  did  not  know  you  were  there  or  I  should  have  in- 
sisted upon  your  remaining  at  my  house." 

"  Thank  you,"  said  she  with  a  quick  triumphant  glance 
at  her  demure  little  shadow,  who  looked  back  in  amaze  and 
was  about  to  speak  when  Miss  Belinda  proceeded.  "  My 
visits  usually  have  been  on  business  ;  I  should  not  think  of 
troubling  Mrs.  Sylvester."  -  And  then  he  knew  that  his  wife 
had  been  aware  of  those  visits  if  he  had  not. 

But  he  refrained  from  testifying  to  his  discovery.  "  You 
speak  of  music,"  said  he,  turning  gently  back  to  Paula. 
"  Have  you  a  taste  for  it  ?  Would  it  make  you  happy  to 
hear  such  music  as  your  aunt  tells  about  ?  " 

"  O  yes,  I  can  conceive  nothing  grander  than  to  sit  in  a 
church  whose  every  line  is  beauty  and  listen  while  the  great 
organ  utters  its  song  of  triumph  or  echoes  in  the  wonderful 
way  it  does,  the  emotions  you  have  tried  to  express  and 
could  not.  I  would  give  a  whole  week  of  my  life  on  the 
hills,  dear  as  it  is,  for  one  such  hour,  I  think." 

Mr.  Sylvester  smiled.  "  It  is  a  rare  kind  of  coin  to  offer 
for  such  a  simple  pleasure,  but  it  may  meet  with  its  accep- 
tance, nevertheless  ;  "  and  in  his  look  and  in  his  voice  there 
was  an  appearance  of  affectionate  interest  that  completed  the 
subjugation  of  the  watchful  Miss  Belinda,  who  now  became 


TWO  MEN'.  85 

doubly  assured  that  whatever  neglect  had  been  shown  her 
by  her  niece  was  not  due  to  that  niece's  husband. 

Mj.  Sylvester  recognized  the  effect  he  had  produced  and 
hastened  to  complete  it,  feeling  that  the  good  opinion  of 
Miss  Belinda  would  be  valuable  to  any  man.  "I  have  been 
a  boy  on  these  hills,"  said  he,  "  and  know  what  it  is  to  long 
for  what  is  beyond  while  enjoying  what  is  present.  You 
shall  hear  the  organ  my  child."  And  stopped,  wondering  to 
himself  over  the  new  sweet  interest  he  seemed  to  take  in  the 
prospect  of  pleasures  which  he  had  supposed  himself  to  have 
long  ago  exhausted. 

"  Hear  the  organ,  I  ?  why  that  means — O  what  does  it 
mean  ? "  she  inquired,  turning  with  a  look  of  beaming  hope 
towards  her  aunt. 

"  You  must  ask  Mr.  Sylvester,"  that  uncompromising 
lady  replied,  with  a  straightforward  look  at  the  fire. 

And  he  with  a  smile  told  the  blushing  girl  that  accord- 
ing to  his  reading,  mortals  went  blindfold  into  fairy-land  ; 
and  she  understood  what  he  meant  and  was  silent,  where- 
upon he  turned  the  conversation  upon  more  common-place 
subjects. 

For  how  could  he  tell  her  then  of  the  intention  that  had 
awakened  in  his  breast  at  the  first  glimpse  of  her  grand 
young  beauty.  To  make  her  his  child,  to  bequeath  to  her 
the  place  of  the  babe  that  had  perished  in  his  arms  three 
long  years  before — That  meant  to  give  Ona  a  care  if  not  a 
rival  in  his  affections,  and  Ona  shrank  from  care,  and  was 
not  a  subject  for  rivalry.  And  the  if  which  this  implied 


86  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

weighed  heavily  on  his  heart  as  moment  after  moment  flew 
by,  and  he  felt  again  the  reviving  power  of  an  unsullied 
mind  and  an  aspiring  nature. 


X. 

THE    BARRED    DOOR. 

"  A  school  boy's  tale  ;  the  wonder  of  an  hour." 

BYRON. 

"  DID  you  know  that  your  niece  was  gifted  with  rare 
beauty  as  well  as  talents  ? "  asked  Mr.  Sylvester  of  Miss  Be- 
linda as  a  couple  of  hours  or  so  later,  they  sat  alone  by  the 
parlor  fire,  preparatory  to  his  departure. 

"  No,  that  is,"  she  hastily  corrected  herself,"  I  knew  she 
was  very  pretty  of  course,  prettier  by  far  than  any  of  her 
mates,  but  I  did  not  suppose  she  was  what  you  call  a  beauty, 
or  at  least  would  be  so  considered  by  a  person  accustomed 
to  New  York  society." 

"  I  do  not  know  of  a  woman  in  New  York  who  can  boast 
of  any  such  claims  to  transcendant  loveliness.  Such  faces 
are  rare  outside  of  art,  Miss  Belinda ;  was  Mrs.  Fairchild  a 
handsome  woman  ?  " 

"  She  was  my  sister  and  if  I  may  say  so,  my  favorite  sis- 
ter, but  she  was  no  more  agreeable  to  the  eye  than  some 
others  of  her  family,"  grimly  returned  the  heavy  browed  spin- 
ster with  a  compression  of  her  lips.  "  What  beauty  Paula 
has  inherited  came  from  her  father.  Her  chief  charm  in  my 
eyes,  however,  springs  from  her  pure  nature  and  the  unself- 
ish impulses  of  her  heart." 


88  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"And  in  mine,"  rejoined  he  quietly.  Then  with  a  sud- 
den change  of  tone  as  he  realized  the  necessity  of  saying 
something  definite  to  this  woman  in  regard  to  his  intentions 
toward  the  child,  he  remarked,  "  Her  great  and  unusual  tal- 
ents and  manifest  disposition  to  learn,  demand  as  you  say, 
superior  advantages  to  any  she  can  have  in  a  small  country 
town  like  this,  fruitful  as  it  has  already  been  to  her  under 
your  wise  and  fostering  care  and  such  shall  she  have ;  but 
just  when  and  how  I  cannot  say  till  I  have  seen  my  wife  and 
learned  what  her  wishes  are  likely  to  be  in  regard  to  the  sub- 
ject." 

"  You  are  very  kind,  sir,"  returned  Miss  Belinda.  "  I 
have  no  doubt  as  to  the  good-will  of  your  intentions,  and 
the  child  shall  be  prepared  at  once  for  a  change." 

"  And  will  the  child"  he  exclaimed  with  a  smile  as  Paula 
re-entered  the  room,  "  be  so  kind  as  to  give  me  her  company 
in  the  walk  I  must  now  take  to  the  cars  ?  " 

"  Of  course,"  replied  her  aunt  before  the  young  girl  could 
speak,  "  we  owe  you  that  much  attention  I  am  sure." 

And  so  it  was  that  when  he  came  to  retrace  his  way 
through  the  village  with  its  heavy  memories,  he  had  a  guar- 
dian spirit  at  his  side  that  robbed  them  of  their  power  to 
sadden  and  oppress. 

"  What  shall  I  say  for  you  to  the  grim  city  streets  when 
I  get  back  ?  "  inquired  he  as  they  hastened  on  over  the  snow 
covered  road. 

"  Say  to  them  from  me  ?  O  you  may  give  them  my 
greeting,"  she  responded  half  shyly,  half  confidingly.  Evi- 


TWO  MEN.  89 

dently  for  her  he  was  one  of  those  rare  persons  whose  pres- 
ence is  perfect  freedom  and  with  whom  she  could  not  only 
think  her  best  but  speak  it  also.  "  I  should  like  to  make  their 
acquaintance,  but  indeed  they  would  have  to  do  well  to  vie 
in  attraction  with  these  white  roads  girded  by  their  silver- 
limbed  trees.  The  very  rush  of  life  must  seem  oppressive. 
So  many  hopes,  so  many  fears,  so  many  interests  jostling  you 
at  every  step  !  Yet  the  thought  is  exhilarating  too ;  dont 
you  find  it  so  ?  " 

It  was  the  first  question  she  had  asked  him  and  he  knew 
not  how  to  reply.  Her  eyes  were  so  confiding,  he  could  not 
bear  to  shake  her  faith  in  his  imagined  superiority.  Yet 
what  thoughts  had  he  ever  cherished  in  walking  the  busy 
streets,  save  those  connected  with  his  own  selfish  hopes  and 
fears,  plans  and  operations  ?  "I  have  no  doubt,"  said  he 
after  a  moment's  pause,  "  that  I  have  felt  this  exhilaration 
of  which  you  speak.  Certainly  the  hurrying  masses  in 
Broadway  awaken  a  far  different  sensation  in  a  man,  than 
this  solitary  stretch  of  country  road." 

"  Yet  the  road  has  its  companionships,"  she  murmured. 
"  In  the  city  one  thinks  most  of  men,  but  in  the  country,  of 
God.  Its  very  solitude  compels  you." 

"  Compels  you"  he  involuntarily  answered.  And  shud- 
dered as  he  said  it,  remembering  days  when  he  trod  these 
very  roads  with  anything  but  reverence  in  his  heart  for  the 
Creator  of  the  landscape  before  him.  "  Not  every  one  has 
the  inner  vision,  my  child,  to  see  the  love  and  wisdom  back 
of  the  works,  or  rather  most  men  have  a  vision  so  short  it 


9°  THE  SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES. 

does  not  reach  so  far.  Yet  I  think  I  can  understand  what 
you  mean  and  might  even  experience  your  emotions  if  my 
eyes  had  leisure  to  explore  this  space  and  my  thoughts  to 
rise  out  of  their  usual  depressing  atmosphere  of  care  and 
anxiety.  You  did  not  think  I  was  a  busy  man,  he  continued,'' 
observing  her  gaze  of  wonder.  "  You  thought  riches  brought 
ease  ;  if  you  ever  come  to  think,  'most  of  men  '  you  will 
learn  that  the  wealthy  man  is  the  greatest  worker,  for  his 
rest  comes  not  night  or  day." 

She  shook  her  head  with  a  sudden  doubt.  "  It  is  a 
problem,"  she  said,  "  which  my  knowledge  of  geometry  does 
not  help  me  to  solve." 

"  No,"  assented  he  ;  "  and  one  in  which  even  your  fan- 
ciful soul  would  fail  to  find  any  poetry.  But  stop,  Paula; 
isn't  this  the  place  where  I  found  you  that  day,  and  you 
showed  me  the  view  up  the  river  ? " 

"  Yes,  and  it  was  on  that  stone  I  sat ;  it  has  a  milk-white 
cushion  now ;  and  there  is  where  you  stood,  looking  so  tall 
and  grand  to  my  childish  eyes  !  The  gates  are  of  pearl  now," 
she  said,  pointing  to  the  snow-covered  slopes  in  the  west. 
"  I  wish  the  sky  had  been  clear  to-night  and  you  could  have 
seen  the  effect  of  a  rosy  sunset  falling  over  those  domes  of 
ice  and  snow." 

"  It  would  leave  me  less  to  expect  when  I  come  again," 
he  responded  almost  gayly.  "  The  next  time  we  will  have 
the  sunset,  Paula." 

She  smiled  and  they  hastened  on,  presently  finding  them- 
selves in  the  village  streets.  Suddenly  she  paused.  "  Small 


TWO  MEN.  91 

towns  have  their  mysteries  as  well  as  great  cities,"  said  she ; 
"  we  are  not  without  ours,  look." 

He  turned,  followed  with  a  glance  the  direction  of  her 
pointing  finger  and  started  in  his  sudden  surprise.  She  had 
indicated  to  him  the  house  whose  ghostly  and  frowning 
front  bore  written  across  its  grim  gray  boards,  such  an  in- 
scription of  painful  remembrance.  "  It  is  a  solitary  looking 
place,  isn't  it  ?  "  she  went  on,  innocent  of  the  pain  she  was 
inflicting.  "  No  one  lives  there  or  ever  will,  I  imagine.  Do 
you  see  that  board  nailed  across  the  front  door  ? " 

He  forced  himself  to  look.  He  did  more,  he  fixed  his 
eyes  upon  the  desolate  structure  before  him  until  the  aspect 
of  its  huge  unpainted  walls  with  their  long  rows  of  sealed-up 
windows  and  high  smokeless  chimneys  was  impressed  indel- 
libly  upon  his  mind.  The  large  front  door  with  its  weird 
and  solemn  barrier  was  the  last  thing  upon  which  his  eye 
rested. 

"  Yes,"  said  he,  and  involuntarily  asked  what  it  meant. 

"  We  do  not  know  exactly,"  she  responded.  "  It  was 
nailed  across  there  by  the  men  who  followed  Colonel  Japha 
to  the  grave.  Colonel  Japha  was  the  owner  of  the  house," 
she  proceeded,  too  interested  to  observe  the  shadow  which 
the  utterance  of  that  name  had  invoked  upon  his  brow. 
"  He  was  a  peculiar  man  I  judge,  and  had  suffered  great 
wrongs  they  say  ;  at  all  events  his  life  was  very  solitary  and 
sad,  and  on  his  deathbed  he  made  his  neighbors  promise  him 
that  they  would  carry  out  his  body  through  that  door  and 
then  seal  it  up  against  any  further  ingress  or  egress  forever. 


92  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

His  wishes  were  respected,  and  from  that  day  to  this  no  one 
has  ever  entered  that  door." 

"  But  the  house  ! "  stammered  Mr.  Sylvester  in  any- 
thing but  his  usual  tone,  "  surely  it  has  not  been  deserted  all 
these  years  !  " 

"Ah,"  said  she,  "  now  we  come  to  the  greatest  mystery 
of  all."  And  laying  her  hand  timidly  on  his  arm,  she  drew 
his  attention  to  the  form  of  a  decrepit  old  lady  just  then  ad- 
vancing towards  them  down  the  street.  "  Do  you  see  that 
aged  figure  ?  "  she  asked.  "  Every  evening  at  this  hour, 
winter  and  summer,  stormy  weather  or  clear,  she  is  seen  to 
leave  her  home  up  the  street  and  come  down  to  this  forsaken 
dwelling,  open  the  worm-eaten  gate  before  you,  cross  the 
otherwise  untrodden  garden  and  enter  the  house  by  a  side 
door  which  she  opens  with  a  huge  key  she  carries  in  her 
pocket.  For  just  one  hour  by  the  clock  she  remains  there, 
and  then  she  is  seen  to  issue  in  the  falling  dusk,  with  a 
countenance  whose  heavy  dejection  is  in  striking  contrast  to 
the  expression  of  hope  with  which  she  invariably  enters. 
Why  she  makes  this  pilgrimage  and  for  what  purpose  she  se- 
cludes herself  for  a  stated  time  each  day  in  this  otherwise 
deserted  mansion,  no  man  knows  nor  is  it  possible  to  deter- 
mine, for  though  she  is  a  worthy  woman  and  approachable 
enough  on  all  other  topics,  on  this  she  is  absolutely  mute." 

Mr.  Sylvester  started  and  surveyed  the  woman  as  she 
passed  with  an  anxious  gaze.  "  I  know  her,"  he  muttered  ; 
"  she  was  a  connection  of — of  the  family,  who  inhabited  this 
house."  He  could  not  speak  the  name. 


TWO  MEN.  93 

"  Yes,  so  they  say,  and  the  owner  of  this  house,  though 
she  does  not  live  here.  Did  you  notice  how  she  looked  at 
me  ?  She  often  does  that,  just  as  if  she  wanted  to  speak. 
But  she  always  goes  by  and  opens  the  gate  as  you  see  her 
now  and  takes  out  the  big  key  and — " 

"  Come  away,"  cried  Mr.  Sylvester  with  sudden  impulse, 
seizing  Paula  by  the  hand  and  hurrying  her  down  the  street. 
"  She  is  a  walking  goblin ;  you  must  have  nothing  to  do 
with  such  uncanny  folk."  And  endeavoring  to  turn  off  this 
irresistible  display  of  feeling  by  a  show  of  pleasantry  he 
laughed  aloud,  but  in  a  strained  and  unnatural  way  that 
made  her  eyes  lift  in  unconscious  amazement. 

"  You  are  infected  by  the  atmosphere  of  unreality  that 
pervades  the  spot,"  said  she,  "I  do  not  wonder."  And  with 
the  gentle  perversity  that  sometimes  affects  the  most  thought- 
ful amongst  us,  she  went  on  talking  upon  the  unwelcome  sub- 
ject. "  I  know  of  some  folks  who  invariably  cross  to  the 
other  side  of  the  street  at  night,  rather  than  go  through  the 
shadows  of  the  two  gaunt  poplars  which  guard  that  house. 
Yet  there  has  been  no  murder  committed  there  or  any  great 
crime  that  I  know  of,  unless  the  disobedience  of  a  daughter 
who  ran  away  with  a  man  her  father  detested,  could  be  de- 
nominated by  so  fearful  a  word." 

The  set  gaze  with  which  Mr.  Sylvester  surveyed  the 
landscape  before  him  quavered  a  trifle  and  then  grew  hard 
and  cold.  "  And  so,"  said  he  in  a  tone  meant  more  for  him- 
self than  her,  "  even  your  innocent  ears  have  been  assailed 
by  the  gossip  about  Miss  Japha." 


94  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Gossip  !  I  have  never  thought  of  it  as  gossip,"  returned 
she,  struck  for  the  first  time  by  the  change  in  his  appear- 
ance. "  It  all  happened  so  long  ago  it  seems  more  like  some 
quaint  and  ancient  tale  than  a  story  of  one  of  our  neigh- 
bors. Besides,  the  fact  that  a  wilful  girl  ran  away  from  the 
house  of  her  father,  with  the  man  of  her  choice,  is  not  such  a 
dreadful  one  is  it,  though  she  never  returned  to  its  walls 
with  her  husband,  and  her  father  was  so  overwhelmed  by 
the  shock,  he  was  never  seen  to  smile  again." 

"  No,"  said  he,  giving  her  a  hurried  glance  of  relief,  "  I 
only  wondered  at  the  tenacity  of  old  stories  to  engage  the 
popular  ear.  I  had  supposed  even  the  remembrance  of  Jac- 
queline Japha  would  have  been  lost  in  the  long  silence  that 
has  followed  that  one  disobedient  act." 

"And  so  it  might,  were  it  not  for  that  closely  shut  house 
with  the  sinister  bar  across  its  chief  entrance,  inviting  curi- 
osity while  it  effectually  precludes  all  investigation.  With 
that  token  ever  before  our  eyes  of  a  dead  man's  implacable 
animosity,  who  can  wonder  that  we  sometimes  ponder  over 
the  fate  of  her  who  was  its  object." 

"  And  no  intimations  of  that  fate  have  been  ever  received 
in  Grotewell.  For  all  that  is  known  to  the  contrary,  Jac- 
queline Japha  may  have  preceded  her  father  to  the  tomb." 

Paula  bowed  her  head,  amazed  at  the  gloomy  tone  in 
which  this  emphatic  assertion  was  made  by  one  whose  sup- 
posed ignorance  she  had  been  endeavoring  to  enlighten. 
"  You  knew  her  history  before,  then,"  observed  she,  "  I  beg 
your  pardon." 


TWO  MEN.  95 

"  And  it  is  granted,"  said  he  with  a  sudden  throwing  off 
of  the  shadow  that  had  enveloped  him.  "  You  must  not 
mind  my  sudden  lapses  into  gloom.  I  was  never  a  cheerful 
man,  that  is,  not  since  I — since  my  early  youth'I  should  say. 
And  the  shadows  which  are  short  at  your  time  of  life  grow 
long  and  chilly  at  mine.  One  thing  can  illumine  them 
though,  and  that  is  a  child's  happy  smile.  You  are  a  child 
to  me  ;  do  not  deny  me  a  smile,  then,  before  I  go." 

"Not  one  nor  a  dozen,"  cried  she,  giving  him  her  hands 
in  good-bye  for  they  had  arrived  at  the  depot  by  this  time 
and  the  sound  of  the  approaching  train  was  heard  in  the  dis- 
tance. 

"  God  bless  you  !  "  said  he,  clasping  those  hands  with  a 
father's  heartfelt  tenderness.  "  God  bless  my  little  Paula 
and  make  her  pillow  soft  till  we  meet  again  !  "  Then  as  the 
train  came  sweeping  up  the  track,  put  on  his  brightest  look 
and  added,  "  If  the  fairy-godmother  chances  to  visit  you 
during  my  departure,  don't  hesitate  to  obey  her  commands, 
if  you  want  to  hear  the  famous  organ  peal." 

"  No,  no,"  she  cried.  And  with  a  final  look  and  smile 
he  stepped  upon  the  train  and  in  another  moment  was 
whirled  away  from  that  place  of  many  memories  and  a  soli- 
tary hope. 


XI. 


MISS   STUYVESANT. 

"  She  smiled  ;  but  he  could  see  arise 
Her  soul  from  far  adown  her  eyes.' 

—  MRS.  BROWNING. 

"  SHE  is  a  beauty  ;  it  is  only  right  I  should  forewarn  you 
of  that." 

"  Dark  or  light  ?  " 

"  Dark ;  that  is  her  hair  and  eyes  are  almost  oriental  m 
their  blackness,  but  her  skin  is  fair,  almost  as  dazzling  as 
yours,  Ona." 

Mrs.  Sylvester  threw  a  careless  glance  in  the  long  mir- 
ror before  which  she  was  slowly  completing  her  toilet,  and 
languidly  smiled.  But  whether  at  this  covert  compliment  to 
her  greatest  charm  or  at  some  passing  fancy  of  her  own,  it 
would  be  difficult  to  decide.  "  The  dark  hair  and  eyes  come 
from  her  father,"  remarked  she  in  an  abstracted  way  while 
she  tried  the  effect  of  a  bunch  of  snow-white  roses  at  her 
waist  with  a  backward  toss  of  her  proud  blonde  head.  "  His 
mother  was  a  Greek.  '  Tell  it  not  in  Gath,  publish  it  not  in 
the  streets  of  Askelon,'."  she  exclaimed  in  a  voice  as  nearly 
gay  as  her  indolent  nature  would  allow.  For  this  lady  of 
fashion  was  in  one  of  her  happiest  moods.  Her  dress,  a  new 
one,  fitted  her  to  perfection  and  the  vision  mirrored  in  the 


TWO  MEN.  97 

glass  before  her  was  not  lacking,  so  far  as  she  could  see 
in  one  charm  that  could  captivate.  "  Do  you  think  she 
could  fasten  a  ribbon,  or  arrange  a  bow?  "  she  further  in- 
quired. "  I  should  like  to  have  some  one  about  me  with  a 
knack  for  helping  a  body  in  an  emergency,  if  possible. 
Sarah  is  absolutely  the  destruction  of  any  bit  of  ribbon  she 
undertakes  to  handle.  Look  at  that  knot  of  black  velvet 
over  there  for  instance,  wouldn't  you  think  a  raw  Irish  girl 
just  from  the  other  side  would  have  known  better  than  to  tie 
it  with  half  the  wrong  side  showing  ?  " 

With  the  habit  long  ago  acquired  of  glancing  wherever 
her  ivory  finger  chanced  to  point,  the  grave  man  of  the 
world  slowly  turned  his  head  full  of  the  weightiest  cares  and 
oppressed  by  the  burden  of  innumerable  responsibilities,  and 
surveyed  the  cluster  of  velvet  bows  thus  indicated,  with  a 
mechanical  knitting  of  the  brows. 

"  I  pay  Sarah  twenty-five  dollars  a  month  and  that  is  the 
result,"  his  wife  proceeded.  "  Now  if  Paula — " 

"Paula  is  not  to  come  here  as  a  waiting  maid,"  her  hus- 
band quickly  interposed,  a  suspicion  of  color  just  showing  it- 
self for  a  moment  on  his  cheek. 

"  If  Paula,"  his  wife  went  on,  unheeding  the  interruption 
save  by  casting  him  a  hurried  glance  over  the  shoulder  01 
her  own  reflection  in  the  glass,  "  had  the  taste  in  such  mat- 
ters Of  some  other  members  of  our  family  and  could  manage 
to  lend  me  a  helping  hand  now  and  then,  why  I  could  al- 
most imagine  I  had  my  younger  sister  back  with  me  again, 
who  with  her  skill  in  making  one  look  fit  for  the  eyes  of  the 
world,  was  such  a  blessing  to  us  in  our  old  home." 


98  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES, 

"  I  have  no  doubt  Paula  could  be  taught  to  be  equally  ef- 
ficient," her  husband  responded,  carefully  restraining  any 
further  show  of  impatience.  "  She  is  bright,  I  am  certain, 
and  ribbon-tying  is  not  such  a  very  difficult  art,  is  it  ?" 

"  I  don't  know  about  that  ;  by  the  way  Sarah  succeeds  I 
should  say  it  was  about  on  a  par  with  the  science  of  algebra 
or — what  is  that  horrid  study  they  used  to  threaten  to  inflict 
me  with  at  the  academy  whenever  I  complained  of  a  head- 
ache ?  Oh  I  remember — conic  sections." 

"  Well,  well,"  laughed  her  husband,  "  she  ought  soon  to 
to  be  an  expert  in  it  then ;  Paula  is  a  famous  little  mathe- 
matician." 

A  silence  followed  this  response ;  Mrs.  Sylvester  was  fit- 
ting in  her  ear-rings.  "  I  suppose,"  said  she  when  the  opera- 
tion was  completed,  "  that  the  snow  will  prevent  half  the 
people  from  coming  to-night."  It  was  a  reception  evening 
at  the  Sylvester  mansion.  "  But  so  long  as  Mrs.  Fitzgerald 
does  not  disappoint  me,  I  do  not  care.  What  do  you  think 
of  the  setting  of  these  diamonds?"  she  inquired,  leaning 
forward  to  look  at  herself  more  closely,  and  slowly  shaking 
her  head  till  the  rich  gems  sparkled  like  fire. 

"  It  is  good,"  came  in  short,  quick  tones  from  the  lips  of 
her  husband. 

"  Well,  I  don't  know,  there  might  be  a  shade  more  of  en- 
amel on  the  edge  of  that  ring.  I  shall  speak  to  the  jeweller 
about  it  to-morrow.  But  what  were  we  talking  about  ?  "  she 
dreamily  asked,  still  turning  her  head  from  side  to  side  before 
the  mirror. 


TWO  MEN.  99 

"  We  were  talking  about  adopting  your  cousin  in  the 
place  of  our  child  who  is  dead,"  replied  her  husband  with 
some  severity,  pausing  in  the  middle  of  the  floor  which  he 
was  pacing,  to  honor  her  with  a  steady  glance. 

"  O  yes  !  Dear  me  !  what  an  awkward  clasp  that  man  has 
given  to  these  rings  after  all,  You  will  have  to  fasten  them 
for  me."  Then  as  he  stepped  forward  with  studied  courtesy, 
yawned  just  a  trifle  and  remarked,  "  No  one  could  ever  take 
the  place  of  one's  own  child  of  course.  If  Geraldine  had 
lived  she  would  have  been  a  blonde,  her  eyes  were  blue  as 
sapphires." 

He  looked  in  his  wife's  face  and  his  hands  dropped. 
He  thought  of  the  day  when  those  eyes,  blue  as  sapphires  in- 
deed, flashed  burning  with  death's  own  fever,  from  the  little 
crib  in  the  nursery,  while  with  this  same  cool  and  self-sat- 
isfied countenance,  the  wife  and  mother  before  him  had 
swept  down  the  broad  stairs  to  her  carriage,  murmuring 
apologetically  as  she  gathered  up  her  train,  "  O  you  needn't 
trouble  yourself  to  look  after  her,  she  will  do  very  well  with 
Sarah." 

She  may  have  thought  of  it  too,  for  the  least  little  bit  of 
real  crimson  found  its  way  through  the  rouge  on  her  cheek 
as  she  encountered  the  stern  look  of  his  eye,  but  she  only 
turned  a  trifle  more  towards  the  glass,  saying,  "  I  forgot  you 
do  not  admire  the  role  of  waiting  maid.  I  will  try  and  roan- 
age  them  myself,  seeing  that  you  have  banished  Sarah." 

He  exerted  his  self-control  and  again  for  the  thousandth 
time  buried  that  ghastly  memory  out  of  sight,  actually  fore- 


IOO  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

ing  himself  to  smile  as  he  gently  took  her  hand  from  her  ear 
and  began  deftly  to  fasten  the  rebellious  ornaments. 

"  You  mistake,"  said  he,  "  love  can  ask  any  favor  with- 
out hesitation.  I  do  not  object  to  waiting  upon  my  own 
wife." 

She  gave  him  a  little  look  which  he  obligingly  took  as  a 
guerdon  for  this  speech,  and  languidly  held  out  her  bracelets. 
As  he  stood  clasping  them  on  her  arms,  she  quietly  eyed  him 
over  from  head  to  foot.  "  I  don't  know  of  a  man  who  has 
your  figure,"  said  she  with  a  certain  tone  of  pride  in  her 
voice  ;  "  it  is  well  you  married  a  wife  who  does  not  look  alto- 
gether inferior  beside  you."  Then  as  he  bowed  with  mock 
appreciation  of  the  intended  compliment,  added  with  her 
usual  inconsequence,  "  I  dare  say  it  would  give  me  some- 
thing to  interest  myself  in.  I  don't  suppose  she  has  a  de- 
cent thing  to  wear,  and  the  fact  of  her  being  a  dark  beauty 
would  lend  quite  a  new  impulse  to  my  inventive  faculty. 
Mrs.  Walker  has  a  daughter  with  black  eyes,  but  dear  me, 
what  a  guy  she  does  make  of  her  !  " 

With  a  sigh  Mr.  Sylvester  turned  to  the  window  where 
he  stood  looking  out  at  the  heavy  flakes  of  snow  falling  with 
slow  and  fluctuating  movement  between  him  and  the  row 
of  brown  stone  houses  in  front.  Paula  considered  as  a  milli- 
ner's block  upon  which  to  try  the  effect  of  clothes  ! 

"  Even  Mrs.  Fitzgerald  with  all  her  taste  don't  kno\v  how 
to  dress  her  child,"  proceeded  his  wife,  with  a  hurried,  "  Be 
still,  Cherry  !  "  to  the  importunate  bird  in  the  cage.  "  Now- 
I  should  take  as  much  pride  in  dressing  any  one  under  my 


TWO  MEN.  10 1 

charge  as  I  would  myself,  provided  the  subject  was  likely  to 
do  credit  to  my  efforts."  And  finding  the  bird  incorrigi- 
ble in  his  shrill  singing,  she  moved  over  to  the  cage,  where 
she  stood  balancing  her  white  finger  for  the  bird  to  peck 
at,  with  a  pretty  caressing  motion  of  her  lip,  the  little  Ger- 
aldine  of  the  wistful  blue  eyes,  had  never  seen. 

"  You  are  welcome  to  do  what  you  please  in  such  mat- 
ters," was  her  husband's  reply.  He  was  thinking  again  of 
that  same  little  Geraldine ;  a  fall  of  snow  like  the  present 
always  made  him  think  of  her  and  her  innocent  query  as  to 
whether  God  threw  down  such  big  flakes  to  amuse  little  chil- 
dren. "  I  give  you  carte  blanche"  said  he  with  sudden  em- 
phasis. 

Mrs.  Sylvester  paused  in  her  attentions  to  the  bird  to 
give  him  a  sharp  little  look  which  might  have  aroused  his 
surprise  if  he  had  been  fortunate  enough  to  see  it.  But  his 
back  was  towards  her,  and  there  was  nothing  in  the  lan- 
guidly careless  tone  with  which  she  responded,  to  cause  him 
to  turn  his  head.  "  I  see  that  you  would  really  like  to  have 
me' entertain  the  child  ;  but — " 

She  paused,  pursing  up  her  lips  to  meet  the  chattering 
bird's  caress,  while  her  husband  in  his  impatience  drummed 
with  his  fingers  on  the  pane. 

— "  I  must  see  her  before  I  decide  upon  the  length  of  her 
visit,"  continued  she,  as  weary  with  the«sport  she  drew  back 
to  give  herself  a  final  look  in  the  glass.  "  Will  you  please  to 
hand  me  that  shawl,  Edward." 

He   turned  with   alacrity.     In  his  relief  he  could  have 


IO2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES, 

kissed  the  snowy  neck  held  so  erectly  before  him,  as  he  drew 
around  it  the  shawl  he  had  hastily  lifted  from  the  chair  at 
his  side.  But  that  would  not  have  suited  this  calm  and  lan- 
guid beauty  who  disliked  any  too  overt  tribute  to  her  charms 
and  saved  her  caresses  for  her  bird.  Besides  it  would  look 
like  gratitude,  and  gratitude  would  be  misplaced  towards  a 
wife  who  had  just  indicated  her  acceptance  of  his  offer  to 
receive  a  relative  of  her  own  into  his  house. 

"  She  might  as  well  come  at  once,"  was  her  final  remark, 
as  satisfied  at  last  with  the  lay  of  every  ribbon  she  swept  in 
finished  elegance  from  the  room.  "  Mrs.  Kittredge's  recep- 
tion comes  off  a  week  from  Thursday,  and  I  should  like  to 
see  how  a  dark  beauty  with  a  fair  skin  would  look  in  that 
new  shade  of  heliotrope." 

And  so  the  battle  was  over  and  the  victory  won  ;  for  Mrs. 
Sylvester  for  all  her  seeming  indifference  was  never  known  to 
change  a  decision  she  had  once  made.  As  he  realized  the 
fact,  as  he  meditated  that  ere  long  this  very  room  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  so  much  frivolity  and  the  witness  to  so 
many  secret  heart-burnings,  would  reecho  to  the  tread-  of 
the  pure  and  innocent  child,  whose  mind  had  flights  un- 
known to  the  slaves  of  fashion,  and  in  whose  heart  lay  im- 
pulses of  goodness  that  would  satisfy  the  long  smothered 
cravings  of  his  awakened  nature,  he  experienced  a  feeling  of 
relenting  towards  the*  wife  who  had  not  chosen  to  thwart  him 
in  this  the  strongest  wish  of  his  childless  manhood,  and 
crossing  to  her  dressing  table,  he  dropped  among  its  treas- 
ures a  costly  ring  which  he  had  been  induced  to  purchase 


TWO  MEN.  IO3 

that  day  from  an  old  friend  who  had  fallen  into  want.  "  She 
will  wear  it,"  murmured  he  to  himself,  "  for  its  hue  will  make 
her  hand  look  still  whiter,  and  when  I  see  it  sparkle  I  will 
remember  this  hour  and  be  patient."  Had  he  known  that 
she  had  yielded  to  this  wish  out  of  a  certain  vague  feeling  of 
compunction  for  the  disappointments  she  had  frequently  oc- 
casioned him  and  would  occasion  him  again,  he  might  have 
added  a  tender  thought  to  the  rich  and  costly  gift  with 
which  he  had  just  endowed  her. 

"  I  expect  a  young  cousin  of  mine  to  spend  the  winter 
with  me  and  pursue  her  studies,"  were  the  first  words  that 
greeted  his  ears  as  an  hour  or  so  later  he  entered  the  parlor 
where  his  wife  was  entertaining  what  few  guests  had  been 
anxious  enough  for  a  sight  of  Mrs.  Sylvester's  newly  fur- 
nished drawing-room,  to  brave  the  now  rapidly  falling  snow. 
"  I  hope  that  you  and  she  will  be  friends." 

Curious  to  see  what  sort  of  a  companion  his  wife  was 
thus  somewhat  prematurely  providing  for  Paula,  he  hastily 
advanced  towards  the  little  group  from  which  her  voice  had 
proceeded,  and  found  himself  face  to  face  with  a  brown- 
haired  girl  whose  appealing  glance  and  somewhat  infantile 
mouth  were  in  striking  contrast  to  the  dignity  with  which  she 
carried  her  small  head  and  managed  her  whole  somewhat 
petite  person. 

"  Miss  Stuyvesant  !  my  husband  ! "  came  in  musical 
tones  from  his  wife,  and  somewhat  surprised  to  hear  a  name 
that  but  a  moment  before  had  been  the  uppermost  in  his 
mind,  he  bowed  with  courtesy  and  then  asked  if  he  was  so 


IO4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

happy  as  to  speak  to  a  daughter  of  Thaddeus  Stuyve- 
sant. 

"  If  it  will  give  you  especial  pleasure  I  will  say  yes," 
responded  the  little  miss  with  a  smile  that  irradiated  hef 
whole  face.  "  Do  you  know  my  father  ?  " 

"  There  are  but  few  bankers  in  the  city  who  have  not 
that  pleasure,"  replied  he  with  an  answering  look  of  regard. 
"  I  am  especially  happy  to  meet  his  daughter  in  my  house 
to-night." 

There  was  something  in  his  manner  of  saying  this  and  in 
the  short  inquiring  glance  which  at  every  opportunity  he 
cast  upon  her  bright  young  face  with  its  nameless  charm  of 
mingled  appeal  and  reserve,  that  astonished  his  wife. 

"  Miss  Stuyvesant  was  in  the  carriage  with  Mrs.  Fitzger- 
ald," said  that  lady  with  a  certain  dignity  she  knew  well  how 
to  assume.  "  I  am  afraid  if  it  had  not  been  for  that  circum- 
stance we  should  not  have  enjoyed  the  pleasure  of  her  pres- 
ence." And  with  the  rare  tact  of  which  she  was  certainly  a 
mistress,  as  far  as  all  social  matters  were  concerned,  she  left 
the  aspiring  magnate  of  Wall  Street  to  converse  with  the 
daughter  of  the  man  whom  all  New  York  bankers  were  ex- 
pected to  know,  and  hastened  to  join  a  group  of  ladies  dis- 
cussing ceramics  before  a  huge  placque  'of  rarest  doissone. 

Mr.  Sylvester  followed  her  with  his  eyes;  he  had  never 
seen  her  look  more  vivacious  ;  had  the  hope  of  seeing  a 
young  face  at  their  board  touched  some  secret  chord  in  her 
nature  as  well  as  his  ?  Was  she  more  of  a  woman  than  he 
imagined,  and  would  she  be,  though  in  the  most  superficial  of 


TWO  MEAT.  IO5 

ways,  a  mother  to  Paula  ?  "  Flushed  with  the  thought,  he 
turned  back  to  the  little  lady  at  his  side.  She  was  gazing 
in  an  intent  and  thoughtful  way  at  an  engraving  of  Dubufe's 
"  Prodigal  Son "  that  adorned  the  wall  above  her  head. 
There  was  something  in  her  face  that  made  him  ask : 

"  Is  that  a  favorite  picture  of  yours  ?  " 

She  smiled  and  nodded  her  small  and  delicate  head. 

"  Yes  sir,  it  is  indeed,  but  I  was  not  looking  at  the  pic- 
ture so  much  as  at  the  face  of  that  dark-haired  girl  that  sits 
in  the  centre,  with  that  far-away  expression  in  her  eyes. 
Do  you  see  what  I  mean  ?  She  is  like  none  of  the  rest.  Her 
form  is  before  us,  but  her  heart  and  her  interest  are  in  some 
distant  clime  or  forsaken  home  to  which  the  music  mur- 
mured at  her  side  recalls  her.  She  has  a  soul  above  her 
surroundings,  that  girl ;  and  her  face  is  indescribably  pathetic 
to  me.  In  the  recesses  of  her  being  she  carries  a  memory  or 
a  regret  that  separates  her  from  the  world  and  makes  certain 
moments  of  her  life  almost  holy." 

"You  look  deep,"  said  Mr.  Sylvester,  gazing  down  upon 
the  little  lady's  face  with  strongly  awakened  interest.  "  You 
see  more  perhaps  than  the  painter  intended." 

"  No,  no  ;  possibly  more  than  the  engraving  expresses, 
but  not  more  than  the  artist  intended.  I  saw  the  original 
once,  when  as  you  remember  it  was  on  exhibition  here.  I 
was  a  wee  thing,  but  I  never  forgot  that  girl's  face.  It  spoke 
more  than  all  the  rest  to  me  ;  perhaps  because  I  so  "much 
honor  reserve  in  one  who  holds  in  his  breast  a  great  pain  or 
a  great  hope." 


106  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

The  eye  that  was  resting  upon  her,  softened  indescriba- 
bly. "  You  believe  in  great  hopes,"  said  he. 

The  little  figure  seemed  to  grow  tall ;  and  her  face  looked 
almost  beautiful.  "  What  would  life  be  without  them  ? " 
she  answered. 

"  True,"  returned  Mr.  Sylvester ;  and  entering  into  the 
conversation  with  unusual  spirit,  was  astonished  to  find  how 
young  she  was  and  yet  how  thoroughly  bright  and  self- 
possessed. 

"  Lovely  girls  are  cropping  up  around  me  in  all  direc- 
tions," thought  he  ;  "I  shall  have  to  correct  my  judgment 
concerning  our  young  ladies  of  fashion  if  I  encounter  many 
more  as  sensible  and  earnest-hearted  as  this."  And  for  some 
reason  his  brow  grew  so  light  and  his  tone  so  cheerful  that 
the  ladies  were  attracted  from  all  parts  of  the  room  to  hear 
what  the  demure  Miss  Stuyvesant  could  have  to  say  to  the 
grave  master  of  the  house,  to  call  forth  such  smiles  of  en- 
joyment upon  his  usually  melancholy  countenance. 

Take  it  all  together,  the  occasion  though  small  was  one 
of  the  pleasantest  of  the  season,  and  so  Mrs.  Sylvester  an- 
nounced when  the  last  carriage  had  driven  away,  and  she 
and  her  husband  stood  in  the  brilliantly  lighted  library,  sur- 
veying a  new  cabinet  of  rare  and  antique  workmanship 
which  had  been  that  day  installed  in  the  place  of  honor  be- 
neath my  lady's  picture. 

"I  thought  you  seemed  to  enjoy  it,  Ona,"  her  husband 
remarked. 

"O,  it  was  an  occasion  of  triumph  to  me,"  she  murmured. 


TWO  MEN.  lO/ 

'It  is  the  first  time  a  Stuyvesant  has  crossed  our  threshold, 
mon  cher" 

"  Ha,"  he  exclaimed,  turning  upon  her  a  brisk  displeased 
look.  He  -was  proud  and  considered  no  man  his  superior  in 
a  social  sense.  "  Do  you  acknowledge  yourself  a  parvenue 
that  you  rejoice  at  the  entrance  of  any  one  special  person 
into  your  doors  ?" 

"  I  thought,"  she  replied  somewhat  mortified,  "  that  you 
betrayed  unusual  pleasure  yourself  at  her  introduction." 

"  That  may  be  ;  I  was  glad  to  see  her  here,  for  her  father 
is  one  of  the  most  influential  directors  in  the  bank  of  which 
I  shortly  expect  to  be  made  president." 

The  nature  of  this  disclosure  was  calculated  to  be  espe- 
cially gratifying  to  her,  and  effectually  blotted  out  any  re- 
membrance of  the  break  by  which  it  had  been  introduced. 
After  a  few  hasty  inquiries,  followed  by  a  scene  of  quite 
honest  mutual  congratulation,  the  gratified  wife  left  her  hus- 
band to  put  out  the  lights  himself  or  call  Samuel  as  he  might 
choose,  and  glided  up  stairs  to  delight  the  curious  Sarah 
with  the  broken  soliloquies  and  inconsequent  self-commun- 
ings  which  formed  another  of  her  peculiar  habits. 

As  for  her  husband,  he  stood  a  few  minutes  where  she 
left  him,  abstractedly  eying  the  gorgeous  vista  that  spread 
out  before  him  down  to  the  further  mirror  of  the  elaborate 
drawing-room,  thinking  perhaps  with  a  certain  degree  of 
pride,  of  the  swiftness  with  which  he  had  risen  to  opulence 
and  the  certainty  with  which  he  had  conquered  position  in 
the  business  as  well  as  in  the  social  world  when  he  could 


IO8  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

speak  of  such  a  connection  with  Thaddeus  Stuyvesant  as  a 
project  already  matured.  Then  with  a  hasty  movement 
and  a  quick  sigh  which  nothing  in  his  prospects  actual  or 
apparent  would  seem  to  warrant,  he  proceeded  to  put  out 
the  lights,  my  lady's  picture  shining*  with  less  and  less  im- 
portunity as  the  flickering  jets  disappeared,  till  all  was  dark 
save  for  the  faint  glimmer  that  came  in  from  the  hall,  a  glim- 
mer just  sufficient  to  show  the  outlines  of  the  various  arti- 
cles of  furniture  scattered  about — and  could  it  be  the  tall 
figure  of  the  master  himself  standing  in  the  centre  of  the 
room  with  his  palms  pressed  against  his  forehead  in  an  atti- 
tude of  sorrow  or  despair  ?  Yes,  or  whose  that  wild  mur- 
mur, "  Is  it  never  given  to  man  to  forget  !  "  Yet  no,  or 
who  is  this  that  calm  and  dignified,  steps  at  this  moment 
from  the  threshold  ?  It  must  have  been  a  dream,  a  phantasy., 
This  is  the  master  of  the  house  who  with  sedate  and  regular 
step  goes  up  flight  after  flight  of  the  spiral  staircase,  and 
neither  pauses  or  looks  back  till  he  reaches  the  top  of  the 
house  where  he  takes  out  a  key  from  his  pocket,  and  opening 
a  certain  door,  goes  in  and  locks  it  behind  him.  It  is  his 
secret  study  or  retreat,  a  room  which  no  one  is  allowed  to 
enter,  the  mystery  of  the  house  to  the  servants  and  some- 
thing more  than  that  to  its  inquisitive  mistress.  What  he 
does  there  no  man  knows,  but  to-night  if  any  one  had  been 
curious  enough  to  listen,  they  would  have  heard  nothing  more 
ominous  than  the  monotonous  scratch  of  a  pen.  He  was  writ- 
ing to  Miss  Belinda  and  the  burden  of  his  letter  was  that  on 
a  certain  day  he  named,  he  was  coming  to  take  away  Paula. 


XII. 

MISS   BELINDA    MAKES    CONDITIONS. 

"  For  of  the  soul  the  body  form  doth  take, 
For  soul  is  form,  and  doth  the  body  make." 

SPENSER. 

Miss  BELINDA  was  somewhat  taken  aback  at  the  propo- 
sal of  Mr.  Sylvester  to  receive  Paula  into  his  own  house. 
She  had  not  anticipated  any  such  result  to  her  efforts ;  the 
utmost  she  had  expected  was  a  couple  of  years  or  so  of  in- 
struction in  some  state  Academy.  Nor  did  she  know  whether 
she  was  altogether  pleased  at  the  turn  affairs  were  taking. 
From  all  she  had  heard,  her  niece  Ona  was,  to  say  the  least, 
a  frivolous  woman,  and  Paula  had  a  mind  too  noble  to  be 
subjected  to  the  deteriorating  influence  of  a  shallow  and 
puerile  companionship.  Then  the  child  had  great  beauty ; 
Mr.  Sylvester  who  ought  to  be  a  judge  in  such  matters  had 
declared  it  so,  and  what  might  not  the  adulation  of  the 
thoughtless  and  the  envy  of  the  jealous,  do  towards  belittling 
a  nature  as  yet  uncontaminated. 

"We  ought  to  think  twice,"  she  said  to  Miss  Abby  with 
some  bitterness,  who  on  the  contrary  never  having  thought 
once  was  full  of  the  most  childish  hopes  concerning  a  result 
which  she  considered  with  a  certain  secret  complacency  she 


110  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES, 

would  not  have  acknowledged  for  the  world,  had  been  very 
much  furthered  by  her  own  wise  recommendations  to  Mr. 
Sylvester  in  the  beginning  of  his  visit.  Yet  notwithstanding 
her  doubts  Miss  Belinda  allowed  such  preparations  to  be 
made  as  she  considered  necessary,  and  even  lent  her  hand 
which  was  deft  enough  in  its  way,  to  the  task  of  enlarging 
the  child's  small  wardrobe.  As  for  Paula,  the  thought  of 
visiting  the  great  city  with  the  dear  friend  whose  image  had 
stood  in  her  mind  from  early  childhood  as  the  impersona- 
tion of  all  that  was  noble,  generous  and  protecting,  was 
more  than  joyful  ;  it  was  an  inspiration.  Not  that  she  did 
not  cling  to  the  affectionate  if  somewhat  quaint  couple  who 
had  befriended  her  childhood  and  sacrificed  their  comfort  to 
her  culture  and  happiness.  But  the  chord  that  lies  deeper 
than  gratitude  had  been  struck,  and  fond  as  were  her  mem- 
ories of  the  dear  old  home,  the  charm  of  that  deep  "  My 
child,"  with  its  hint  of  fatherly  affection,  was  more  than  her 
heart  could  stand  ;  and  no  spot,  no  not  the  realms  of  fairy- 
land itself,  looked  so  attractive  to  her  fancy  as  that  far  fire- 
side in  an  unknown  home  where  she  might  sit  with  cousin 
Ona  and  alternately  with  her  exert  her  wit  to  beguile  the 
smile  to  his  melancholy  lips. 

When  therefore  upon  the  stated  day,  Mr.  Sylvester  made 
his  second  appearance  at  the  little  cottage  in  Grotewell,  it 
was  to  find  Paula  radiant,  Miss  Abby  tearfully  exultant  and 
Miss  Belinda — O  anomaly  of  human  nature — silent  and 
severe.  Attributing  this  however  to  her  very  natural  regret 
at  parting  with  Paula,  he  entered  into  all  the  arrangements 


TWO  MEN.  Ill 

for  their  departure  on  the  following  morning  without  a  sus- 
picion of  the  real  state  of  her  mind,  nor  was  he  undeceived 
until  the  day  was  nearly  over  and  they  sat  down  to  have  a 
few  minutes  of  social  conversation  before  the  early  tea. 

They  had  been  speaking  on  some  local  topic  involving  a 
question  of  right  and  wrong,  and  Mr.  Sylvester's  ears  were 
yet  thrilling  to  the  deep  ringing  tones  with  which  Paula  ut- 
tered the  words,  "  I  do  not  see  how  any  man  can  hesitate 
an  instant  when  the  voice  of  his  conscience  says  no.  I 
should  think  the  very  sunlight  would  daunt  him  at  the  first 
step  of  his  foot  across  the  forbidden  line,"  when  Miss  Be- 
linda suddenly  spoke  up  and  sending  Paula  out  of  the  room 
on  some  trivial  pretext,  addressed  Mr.  Sylvester  without  re- 
serve. 

"  I  have  something  to  say  to  you,  sir,  before  you  take 
from  my  home  the  child  of  my  care  and  affection." 

Could  he  have  guessed  what  that  something  was  that  he 
should  turn  with  such  a  flush  of  sudden  anxiety  to  meet  her 
determined  gaze. 

"  The  rules  of  our  life  here  have  been  simple,"  contin- 
ued she  in  a  tone  of  voice  which  those  who  knew  her  well 
recognized  as  belonging  to  her  uncompromising  moods. 
"  To  do  our  duty,  love  God  and  serve  our  neighbor.  Paula 
has  been  brought  up  to  reverence  those  rules  in  simplicity 
and  honor ;  what  will  your  gay  city  life  with  its  hollow  de- 
vices for  pleasure  and  its  loose  hold,  on  the  firm  principles  of 
life,  do  for  this  innocent  soul,  Mr.  Sylvester  ?  " 

"The  city,"  he  said  firmly  but  with  a  troubled  undertone 


112  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

in  his  voice  that  was  not  unnoted  by  the  watchful  wo- 
man, "is  a  vast  caldron  of  mingled  good  and  evil.  She 
will  hear  of  more  wrong  doing,  and  be  within  the  reach  of 
more  self-denying  virtue,  than  if  she  had  remained  in  this 
village  alone  with  the  nature  that  she  so  much  loves.  The 
tree  of  knowledge  bears  two  kinds  of  fruit,  Miss  Belinda ; 
would  you  therefore  hinder  the  child  from  approaching  its 
branches  ?  " 

"  No,  sir ;  I  am  not  so  weak  as  to  keep  a  child  in  swad- 
dling-clothes after  the  period  of  infancy  is  past,  neither  am  I 
so  reckless  as  to  set  her  adrift  on  an  unknown  sea  without  a 
pilot  to  guide  her.  Your  wife — "  she  paused  and  fixed  an 
intent  look  upon  the  flames  leaping  before  her.  "  Ona  is  my 
neice,"  she  resumed  in  a  lower  tone  of  voice,  "  and  I  feel  en- 
titled to  speak  with  freedom  concerning  her.  Is  she  such 
a  guide  as  I  would  choose  for  a  young  girl  just  entering 
a  new  sphere  in  life  ?  From  all  I  have  heard,  I  should 
judge  she  was  somewhat  over-devoted  to  this  world  and 
its  fashions." 

Mr.  Sylvester  flushed  painfully,  but  seeing  that  any  soft- 
ening of  the  truth  would  be  wholly  ineffectual  with  this 
woman,  replied  in  a  candid  tone,  "  Ona  is  the  same  now  as 
she  was  in  the  days  of  her  girlhood.  If  she  loves  the  world 
too  well  she  is  not  without  her  excuse;  from  her  birth  it  has 
strewn  nothing  but  roses  in  her  path." 

"Humph  !  "  came  from  the  lips  of  the  energetic  spinster. 
Then  with  a  second  stern  glance  at  the  fire,  continued, 
"  Another  question,  Mr.  Sylvester.  Does  your  wife  consent 


TWO  MEN.  113 

to  receive  my  neice  into  her  house,  for  the  indefinite  length 
of  time  which  you  mention,  from  interest  in  the  girl  herself 
or  indeed  from  any  motive  I  should  judge  worthy  of  Paula? 
It  is  a  leading  question  I  know,  but  this  is  no  time  for  nice- 
ties of  speech." 

"  Miss  Belinda,"  replied  he,  and  his  voice  was  firm 
though  his  fingers  slightly  trembled  where  they  rested  upon 
the  arms  of  his  chair,  "  I  will  try  and  forget  for  a  moment 
that  Ona  is  my  wife,  and  frankly  confide  to  you  that  any 
such  motive  on  her  part,  as  would  meet  with  your  entire  ap- 
proval, must  not  be  expected  from  a  woman  who  has  never 
fully  recognized  the  solemn  responsibilities  of  life.  Tiiat 
she  will  be  kind  to  Paula  I  have  no  doubt,  that  she  may  even 
learn  to  take  an  interest  in  her  for  her  own  sake,  is  also  very 
possible,  but  that  she  will  ever  take  your  place  towards  her 
as  guide  or  instructor,  I  neither  anticipate  nor  would  feel 
myself  justified  in  leading  you  to." 

The  look  which  Miss  Belinda  cast  him  was  anything 
but  reassuring.  "  And  yet,"  said  she,  "  you  will  take  away 
my  darling  and  give  her  up  to  an  influence  that  can  not  be 
for  good,  or  your  glance  would  not  be  so  troubled  or  your 
lip  so  uncertain.  You  would  set  her  young  feet  in  a  path 
where  the  very  flowers  are  so  thick  they  conceal  its  tendency 
and  obscure  its  dangers.  Mr.  Sylvester  you  are  a  man  who 
has  seen  life  with  naked  eyes,  and  must  recognize  its  re- 
sponsibilities ;  dare  you  take  this  Paula,  whom  you  have  seen, 
out  of  the  atmosphere  of  truth  and  purity  in  which  she  has 
been  raised,  and  give  her  over  to  the  enervating  influences 


114  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

of  folly  and  fashion  ?  Will  you  assume  the  risk  and  brave 
the  consequences?" 

As  though  an  electric  shock  had  touched  the  nerve  of  his 
nature,  Mr.  Sylvester  hastily  rose  and  moved  in  a  restless 
manner  to  the  window.  It  was  his  favorite  refuge  in  any 
time  of  sudden  perplexity  or  doubt,  and  this  was  surely  an 
occasion  for  both. 

"Miss  Belinda,"  he  began  and  then  paused,  looking  out 
on  the  hills  of  his  boyhood,  every  one  of  which  spoke  to  him 
at  that  moment  with  a  force  that  almost  sickened  his  heart 
and  benumbed  the  faculties  of  his  mind  ;  "  I  recognize  the 
lova  which  leads  you  to  speak  in  this  way,  and  I  bow  before 
it,  but — "  here  his  tongue  faltered  again,  that  ready  tongue 
whose  quick  and  persuasive  eloquence  on  public  occasions 
had  won  for  him  the  name  of  Silver-speech  among  his  friends 
and  admirers — "  but  there  are  others  who  love  your  Paula 
also,  love  her  with  a  yearning  that  only  the  childless  can 
feel  or  the  disappointed  appreciate.  I  had  hoped — "  here 
he  left  the  window  and  approached  her  side,  "  to  do  more 
for  Paula  than  to  give  her  the  temporal  benefit  of  a  luxur- 
ious home  and  such  instruction  as  her  extraordinary  talents 
demand.  If  Ona  upon  seeing  and  knowing  the  child  had 
found  she  could  love  her,  I  had  intended  to  ask  you  to  yield 
her  to  us  unreservedly  and  forever,  in  short  to  make  her  my 
child  in  place  of  the  daughter  I  have  lost.  But  now — "  with 
a  quick  gesture  he  began  pacing  the  floor  and  left  the  sen- 
tence unfinished. 

Miss  Belinda's  eyes  which  were  of  a  light  grey,  wholly 


TWO  MEN.  115 

without  beauty  but  with  strange  flashes  of  expression  in 
them,  left  the  fire  and  fell  upon  his  face,  and  a  tear  of  real 
feeling  gathered  beneath  her  lids. 

"  I  had  no  idea,"  said  he,  "  that  you  cherished  any  such 
intention  as  that.  If  I  had  I  might  have  worded  my  appre- 
hensions differently.  The  yearning  feeling  of  which  you 
speak,  I  can  easily  understand,  also  the  strength  of  the  deter- 
mination it  must  take  on  the  part  of  a  man  like  yourself,  to 
give  up  a  hope  of  this  nature.  Yet — "  Seeing  him  pause  in 
his  hurried  pacing  and  open  his  lips  as  if  to  speak,  she  defer- 
tially  stopped. 

"  Miss  Belinda,"  said  he,  in  the  firm  and  steadfast  way 
more  in  keeping  with  his  features  than  his  agitated  manner 
of  a  moment  before,  "  I  cannot  give  it  up.  The  injury  it 
would  do  me  is  greater  than  the  harm,  which  one  of  Paula's 
lofty  nature  would  be  apt  to  acquire  in  any  atmosphere  into 
which  she  might  chance  to  be  introduced.  She  is  not  a 
child,  Miss  Belinda,  though  we  allude  to  her  as  such.  The 
texture  of  those  principles  which  you  have  instilled  into  her 
breast,  is  of  no  such  weak  material  as  to  give  way  to  the  first 
petty  breeze  that  blows.  Paula's  house  will  stand,  while 
mine — " 

He  paused  and  gave  way  to  a  momentary  struggle,  but 
that  over,  he  set  his  lips  firmly  together  and  the  last  vestige 
of  irresolution  vanished.  Sitting  down  by  her  side,  he 
turned  his  face  upon  her,  and  for  the  first  time  she  realized 
the  power  which  with  one  exception  he  had  always  ex- 
erted over  the  minds  of  others.  "  Miss  Belinda,"  said  he, 


Il6  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  I  am  going  to  give  you  an  evidence  of  my  trust ;  I  am  go- 
ing to  leave  with  you  the  responsibility  of  Paula's  future. 
She  shall  go  with  me,  and  learn,  if  she  can,  to  love  me  and 
mine,  but  she  shall  also  be  under  obligations  to  open  her 
heart  to  you  on  all  matters  that  concern  her  life  and  happi- 
ness in  my  house,  and  the  day  you  see  any  falling  off  in  her 
pure  and  upright  spirit,  you  shall  demand  her  return,  and 
though  it  tears  the  heart  from  my  breast,  I  will  yield  her  up 
without  question  or  parley  as  I  am  a  gentleman  and  a  Chris- 
tian. Does  that  content  you  ?  " 

"  It  certainly  ought  to,  sir.  No  one  could  ask  more,  I 
am  sure,"  returned  the  other  in  a  voice  somewhat  unsteady 
for  her. 

"  It  is  opening  my  house  to  the  gaze  of  a  stranger,"  said 
he,  "  for  I  desire  you  to  command  Paula  to  withhold  noth- 
ing that  seriously  affects  her  ;  but  my  confidence  in  you  is 
unbounded  and  I  am  sure  that  whatever  you  may  learn  in 
this  way,  will  be  held  as  sacred  by  you  as  though  it  were 
buried  in  a  tomb." 

"  It  certainly  will,  sir." 

"As  for  the  dearer  hope  which  I  have  mentioned,  time 
and  the  condition  of  things  must  decide  for  us.  Meanwhile 
I  shall  strive  to  win  a  father's  place  in  her  heart,  if  only  to 
build  myself  a  refuge  for  the  days  that  are  to  come.  You 
see  I  speak  frankly,  Miss  Belinda  ;  will  you  give  me  some 
token  that  you  are  not  altogether  dissatisfied  with  the  result 
of  this  conversation  ?  " 

With  the  straightforward  if  somewhat  blunt  action  that 


TWO  MEN. 

characterized  all  her  movements,  she  stretched  out  her 
hand,  which  he  took  with  something  more  than  his  usual 
high-bred  courtesy.  "  With  you  at  the  wheel,"  said  she, 
"  I  think  I  may  trust  my  darling,  even  to  the  whirl  and 
follies  of  such  a  society  as  I  know  Ona  loves.  A  man  who 
can  so  command  himself,  ought  to  be  a  safe  guide  to  pioneer 
others." 

And  the  considerate  gentleman  bowed;  but  the  frank 
smile  that  hailed  her  genial  clasp  had  somehow  vanished, 
and  from  the  sudden  cloud  that  at  that  moment  swept  over 
the  roseate  heavens,  fell  a  shadow  that  left  its  impress  on  his 
lip  long  after  the  cloud  itself  had  departed. 

An  hour  or  so  had  passed.  The  fire  was  burning  brightly 
on  the  hearthstone,  illumining  with  a  steady  glow  the  array 
of  stuffed  birds,  worsted  samplers  and  old-fashioned  portraits 
with  which  the  walls  were  adorned,  but  reserving  its  richest 
glow  and  fullest  irradiation  for  the  bended  head  of  Paula, 
who  seated  on  a  little  stool  in  the  corner  of  the  hearth,  was 
watching  the  rise  and  fall  of  the  flickering  flames. 

She  had  packed  her  little  trunk,  had  said  good-bye  to  all 
her  neighboring  friends  and  was  now  sitting  on  the  old 
hearthstone,  musing  upon  the  new  life  that  was  about  to 
open  before  her.  It  was  a  happy  musing,  as  the  smile  that 
vaguely  dimpled  her  cheeks  and  brightened  her  eyes  beneath 
their  long  lashes,  amply  testified.  As  Mr.  Sylvester  watched 
her  from  the  opposite  side  of  the  hearth  where  he  was  sit- 
ting alone  with  his  thoughts,  he  felt  his  heart  sink  with 
apprehension  at  the  fervor  of  anticipation  with  which  she 


II 8  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

evidently  looked  forward  to  the  life  in  the  new  home. 
"  The  young  wings  think  to  gain  freedom,"  thought  he, 
"when  they  are  only  destined  to  the  confinement  of  a 
gilded  cage." 

He  was  so  silent  and  looked  so  sad,  Paula  with  a  certain 
sort  of  sensitiveness  to  any  change  in  the  emotional  atmos- 
phere surrounding  her,  which  was  one  of  her  chief  character- 
istics, hastily  looked  up  and  meeting  his  eye  fixed  on  her 
with  that  foreboding  glance,  softly  arose  and  came  and  sat 
down  by  his  side.  "  You  look  tired,"  murmured  she  ;  "  the 
long  ride  after  a  day  of  business  care  has  been  too  much  for 
you." 

It  was  the  first  word  of  sympathy  with  his  often  over- 
wearied mind  and  body,  that  had  greeted  his  ears  for  years. 
It  made  his  eyes  moisten. 

"  I  have  been  a  little  overworked,"  said  he,  "  for  the  last 
two  months,  but  I  shall  soon  be  myself  again.  What  were 
you  thinking  of,  Paula  ?  " 

"What  was  I  thinking  of ?"  repeated  she,  drawing  her 
chair  nearer  to  his  in  her  loving  confidence.  "  I  was  thinking 
what  wonders  of  beauty  and  art  lay  in  that  great  kernel 
which  you  call  the  city.  I  shall  see  lovely  faces  and  noble 
forms.  I  shall  wander  through  halls  of  music,  the  echo  of 
whose  songs  may  have  come  to  me  in  the  sob  of  the  river 
or  the  sigh  of  the  pines,  but  whose  notes  in  all  their  beauty 
and  power  have  never  been  heard  by  me  even  in  my 
dreams.  I  shall  look  on  great  men  and  touch  the  gar- 
ments of  thoughtful  women.  I  shall  see  life  in  its  fullness 


TWO  MEN.  119 

as  I  have  felt  nature  in  its  mightiness,  and  my  heart  will  be 
satisfied  at  last." 

Mr.  Sylvester  drew  a  deep  breath  and  his  eyes  burned 
strangely  in  the  glow  of  the  firelight.  "You  expect  high 
things,"  said  he  ;  "  did  you  ever  consider  that  the  life  in  a 
great  city,  with  its  ceaseless  rush  and  constant  rivalries,  must 
be  often  strangely  petty  in  despite  of  its  artistic  and  social 
advantages  ?  " 

"  All  life  has  its  petty  side,"  said  she,  with  a  sweet  arch 
look.  "  The  eagle  that  cleaves  the  thunder-cloud,  must  some- 
times stop  to  plume  its  wings.  I  should  be  sorry  to  lose 
the  small  things  out  of  existence.  Even  we  in  the  face  of  that 
great  sunset  appealing  to  us  from  the  west,  have  to  pile  up 
the  firewood  on  the  hearth  and  set  the  table  for  supper." 

"But  fashion,  Paula,"  he  pursued,  concealing  his  wonder 
at  the  maturity  of  mind  evinced  by  this  simple  child  of  na- 
ture, "that  inexorable  power  that  rules  the  very  souls  of 
women  who  once  step  within  the  magic  circle  of  her  realm ! 
have  you  never  thought  of  her  and  the  demands  that  she 
makes  on  the  time  and  attention  even  of  the  worshippers  of 
the  good  and  the  true  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sometimes,"  she  returned  with  a  repetition  of  her 
arch  little  smile,  "  when  I  put  on  a  certain  bonnet  I  have, 
which  Aunt  Abby  modeled  over  from  one  of  my  grandmoth- 
er's. Fashion  is  a  sort  of  obstinate  step-dame  I  imagine, 
whom  it  is  less  trouble  to  obey  than  to  oppose.  I  don't  be- 
lieve I  shall  quarrel  with  Fashion  if  she  will  only  promise  to 
keep  her  hands  off  my  soul." 


120  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  But  if — "  with  a  pause,  "  she  asks  your  all,  what  then  ?  " 

"  I  shall  consider  that  I  am  in  a  country  of  democratic 
principles,"  she  laughed,  "  and  beg  to  be  excused  from  ac- 
ceding to  the  tyrannical  demands  of  any  autocrat  male  or 
female." 

"  You  have  been  listening  to  Miss  Belinda,"  said  he ; 
"  she  is  also  opposed  to  all  and  any  tyrannical  measures." 
Then  with  a  grave  look  from  which  all  levity  had  fled,  he 
leaned  toward  the  young  girl  and  gently  asked,  "  Do  you 
know  that  you  are  a  very  beautiful  girl,  Paula  ?  " 

She  flushed,  looked  at  him  in  some  surprise  and  slowly 
drooped  her  head.  "  I  have  been  told  I  looked  like  my 
father,"  said  she,  "and  I  know  that  means  something  very 
kind." 

"  My  child,"  said  he,  with  gentle  insistence,  "  God  has 
given  you  a  great  and  wonderful  gift,  a  treasure-casket  of 
whose  worth  you  scarcely  realize  the  value.  I  tell  you  this 
myself,  first  because  I  prize  your  beauty  as  something  quite 
sacred  and  pure,  and  secondly  because  you  are  going  where 
you  will  hear  words  of  adulation,  whose  folly  and  bluntness 
will  often  offend  your  ears,  unless  you  carry  in  your  soul 
some  talisman  to  counteract  their  effect." 

"  I  understand,"  said  she,  "  I  know  what  you  mean.  I 
will  remember  that  the  most  engaging  beauty  is  nothing 
without  a  pure  mind  and  a  good  heart." 

"  And  you  will  remember  too,"  continued  he,  "  that  I 
blessed  your  innocent  head  to-night,  not  because  it  is  circled 
by  the  roses  of  a  youthful  and  fresh  loveliness,  but  because 


TWO  MEN.  121 

of  the  pure  mind  and  good  heart  I  see  shining  in  your  eyes." 
And  with  a  fond  but  solemn  aspect  he  reached  out  his  hand 
and  laid  it  on  her  ebon  locks. 

She  bowed  her  head  upon  her  breast.  "  I  will  never  for- 
get," said  she,  and  the  firelight  fell  with  a  softening  glow  on 
the  tears  that  trembled  from  her  eye-lashes. 


XIII. 

THE    END    OF    MY    LADY'S   PICTURE. 
'*  Heaven  from  all  creatures  hides  the  book  of  Fate."         — POPE. 

MRS.  SYLVESTER  was  spending  an  evening  at  home. 
This  was  something  so  unusual  for  this  august  lady  of  fash- 
ion to  indulge  in,  that  she  found  it  difficult  not  to  fall  asleep 
in  the  huge  crimson-backed  chair  in  which  she  had  chosen 
to  ensconce  herself.  Not  that  she  had  desisted  from  mak- 
ing every  effort  known  to  mortal  woman  to  keep  herself 
awake  and  if  possible  amused  till  the  expected  travellers 
should  arrive.  She  had  played  with  her  bird  till  the  spoiled 
pet  had  himself  protested,  ducking  his  head  under  his  wing 
and  proceeding  without  ceremony  to  make  up  his  little 
feather  bed,  as  cunning  Geraldine  used  to  call  the  round, 
fluffy  ball  into  which  he  rolled  himself  at  night.  More  than 
that,  she  had  looked  over  her  ornaments  and  taken  out  such 
articles  as  she  thought  could  be  spared  for  Paula,  to  say 
nothing  of  playing  a  bar  or  so  from  the  last  operatic  sensa- 
tion, and  laboriously  cutting  open  the  leaves  of  the  new  mag- 
azine. But  it  was  all  of  no  use,  and  the  heavy  white  lids 
were  slowly  falling,  when  the  bell  rang  and  Mr.  Bertram 
Mandcville  was  announced,  or  rather  Bertram  Sylvester  as 
he  now  chose  to  be  called. 


TWO  MEN.  123 

It  was  a  godsend  to  her  as  she  politely  informed  him 
upon  his  entrance  ;  and  though  in  his  secret  heart  he  felt 
anything  but  God  sent — he  was  not  of  a  make  to  appreciate 
his  uncle's  wife  at  her  very  evident  value — he  consented  to 
remain  and  assist  her  in  disposing  of  the  evening  till  Mr. 
Sylvester  should  return.  «  t 

"  He  is  going  to  bring  a  pretty  girl  with  him,"  remarked 
she,  in  a  tone  of  some  interest,  "  a  cousin  of  mine  from 
Grotewell.  I  should  like  to  have  you  see  her." 

"  Thank  you,"  replied  he,  his  mind  roaming  off  at  the 
suggestion,  into  the  region  of  a  certain  plain  little  music- 
room  where  the  clock  on  the  mantel  ticked  to  the  beating  of 
his  own  heart.  And  for  ten  minutes  Mrs.  Sylvester  had  the 
pleasure  of  filling  the  room  with  a  stream  of  easy  talk,  in 
which  Grotewell,  dark  beauties,  the  coming  Seventh  Regi- 
ment reception,  the  last  bit  of  gossip  from  London,  and  the 
exact  situation  of  the  Madison  Bank  formed  the  principal 
topics. 

To  the  one  last  mentioned,  it  having  taken  the  form  of  a 
question,  he  was  forced  to  reply ;  but  the  simple  locality  hav- 
ing been  learned,  she  rambled  easily  on,  this  time  indulging 
him  with  a  criticism  upon  the  personal  appearance  of  certain 
business  gentlemen  who  visited  the  house,  ending  with  the 
somewhat  startling  declaration : 

"If  Edward  were  not  the  fine  appearing  gentleman  that 
he  undoubtedly  is,  I  should  feel  utterly  out  of  place  in  these 
handsome  parlors.  Anything  but  to  see  an  elegant  and 
modern  home,  decorated  with  the  costliest  works  of  art,  and 


124  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

filled  with  bijouterie  of  the  most  exquisite  delicacy,  pre- 
sided over  by  a  plain  and  common-place  woman  or  a  bald- 
headed  and  inferior-looking  man.  The  contrast  is  too  vivid ; 
works  of  the  highest  art  do  not  need  such  a  startling  com- 
parison to  bring  out  their  beauty.  Now  if  Edward  stood 
in  the  throne-room  of  a  palace,  he  would  somehow  make 
it  seem  to  others  as  a  handsome  set  off  to  his  own  face  and 
figure." 

This  was  all  very  wife-like  if  somewhat  unnecessary,  and 
Bertram  could  have  listened  to  it  with  pleasure,  if  she  had 
not  cast  the  frequent  and  sidelong  glances  at  the  mirror, 
which  sufficiently  betrayed  the  fact  that  she  included  herself 
in  this  complacent  conclusion;  as  indeed  she  may  have  con- 
sidered herself  justified  in  doing,  husband  and  wife  being 
undoubtedly  of  one  flesh.  As  it  was,  he  maintained  an  im- 
movable countenance,  though  he  admired  his  uncle  as  much 
as  she  did,  and  the  conversation  gradually  languished  till  the 
white  somnolent  lids  of  the  lady  again  began  to  show  certain 
premonitory  signs  of  drooping,  when  suddenly  they  were  both 
aroused  by  the  well  known  click  of  a  latch-key  in  the  door, 
and  in  another  moment  Mr.  Sylvester's  voice  was  heard  in 
the  hall,  saying,  in  tones  whose  cheery  accents  made  his 
wife's  eyes  open  in  surprise — 

"Welcome  home,  my  dear." 

"  They  have  come,"  murmured  Mrs.  Sylvester  rising  with 
a  look  of  undeniable  expectation.  Had  Paula  not  been  a 
beauty  she  would  have  remained  seated. 

"Yes,  we  have  come,"  was  heard  in  hearty  tones  from 


TWO  MEtf.  12$ 

the  doorway,  and  Mr.  Sylvester  with  a  proud  look  which 
Bertram  long  remembered,  ushered  into  their  presence  a 
young  girl  whose  simple  cloak  and  bonnet  in  no  wise  pre- 
vented Mrs.  Sylvester  from  recognizing  the  somewhat  un- 
common beauty  she  had  been  led  to  expect. 

"  Paula,  this  is  your  cousin  Ona,  and — Ah,  Bertram,  glad 
to  see  you — this  is  my  only  nephew,  Mr.  Sylvester. 

The  young  girl,  lost  in  the  sudden  glamour  of  numerous 
lights,  shining  upon  splendors  such  as  she  may  have  dreamed 
of  over  the  pages  of  Irving's  Alhambra,  but  certainly  had 
never  before  seen,  blushed  with  very  natural  embarrassment, 
but  yet  managed  to  bestow  a  pretty  enough  greetipg  upon 
the  elegant  woman  and  handsome  youth,  while  Ona  after 
the  first  moment  of  almost  involuntary  hesitation,  took  in 
hers  the  two  trembling  hands  of  her  youthful  cousin  and 
actually  kissed  her  cheek. 

"  I  am  not  given  to  caresses  as  you  know,"  she  afterwards 
explained  in  a  somewhat  apologetic  tone  to  her  husband  ; 
"  and  anything  like  an  appeal  for  one  on  the  part  of  a  child 
or  an  inferior,  I  detest ;  but  her  simple  way  of  holding  out  her 
hand  disarmed  me,  and  then  such  a  face  demands  a  certain 
amount  of  homage,  does  it  not?  "  And  her  husband  in  his 
surprise,  was  forced  to  acknowledge  to  himself,  that  as  closely 
as  he  had  studied  his  wife's  nature  for  ten  years,  there  were 
certain  crooks  and  turns  in  it  which  even  he  had  never  pene- 
trated. 

"  You  look  dazzled,"  that  lady  .exclaimed,  gazing  not  un- 


126  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

kindly  into  the  young  girl's  face ;  "  the  sudden  glare  of  so 
much  gas-light  has  bewildered  you." 

"  I  do  not  think  it  is  that,"  returned  Paula  with  a  frank 
and  admiring  look  at  the  gorgeous  room  and  the  circle  of 
pleasant  faces  about  her.  "  Sudden  lights  I  can  bear,  but  I 
have  come  from  a  little  cottage  on  the  hill-side  and  the  mag- 
nificence of  nature  does  not  prepare  you  for. the  first  sudden 
view  of  the  splendors  of  art." 

Mrs.  Sylvester  smiled  and  cast  a  side  glance  of  amuse- 
ment at  Bertram.  "  You  admire  our  new  hangings  I  see," 
remarked  she  with  an  indulgence  of  the  other's  naiveti  that 
greatly  relieved  her  husband. 

But  in  that  instant  a  change  had  come  across  Paula  ;  the 
simple  country  maid  had  assimilated  herself  with  the  sur- 
roundings, and  with  a  sudden  grace  and  dignity  that  were 
unstudied  as  they  were  charming,  dropped  her  eyes  from  her 
cousin's  portrait — that  for  some  reason  seemed  to  shine  with 
more  than  its  usual  insistence — and  calmly  replied,  "  I  ad* 
mire  all  beautiful  color ;  it  is  my  birthright  as  a  Walton,  to 
do  so,  I  suppose." 

Mrs.  Sylvester  was  a  Walton  also  and  therefore  smiled ; 
but  her  husband,  who  had  marked  with  inward  distrust, 
the  sudden  transformation  in  Paula,  now  stepped  forward 
with  a  word  or  two  of  remark  concerning  his  appetite,  a 
prosaic  allusion  that  led  to  the  rapid  disappearance  of  the 
ladies  upstairs  and  a  short  but  hurried  conversation  between 
the  two  gentlemen. 

"  I  have  brought  you  a  sealed  envelope  from  the  office," 


TWO  MEN.  127 

said  Bertram,  who,  in  accordance  with  his  uncle's  advice, 
had  already  initiated  himself  into  business  by  assuming  the 
position  of  clerk  in  the  office  of  the  wealthy  speculator. 

"Ah,"  returned  his  uncle  hastily  opening  it.  "As  I  ex- 
pected, a  meeting  has  been  held  this  day  by  the  board  of 
Directors  of  the  Madison  Bank,  a  vote  was  cast,  my  proxy 
did  his  duty  and  I  am  duly  elected  President.  Bertram,  we 
know  what  that  means,"  smiled  he,  holding  out  his  hand  with 
an  affectionate  warmth  greatly  in  advance  of  the  emotion  dis- 
played by  him  on  a  former  occasion. 

"  I  hope  so  indeed,"  young  Bertram  responded.  "  An  in- 
crease of  fortune  and  honor  for  you,  though  you  seem  to 
have  both  in  the  fullest  measure  already,  and  a  start  in  the 
new  life  for  me  to  whom  fortune  and  honor  mean  happi- 
ness." 

A  smile  younger  and  more  full  of  hope  than  any  he  had 
seen  on  his  uncle's  face  for  years,  responded  to  this  burst. 
"  Bertram,"  said  he,  "  since  our  conversation  of  a  couple  o£ 
weeks  ago  something  has  occurred  which  somewhat  alters 
the  opinions  I  then  expressed.  If  you  have  patience  equal 
to  your  energy,  and  a  self-control  that  will  not  put  to  shame 
your  unbounded  trust  in  women,  I  think  I  can  say  God- 
speed to  your  serious  undertaking,  with  something  like  a 
good  heart.  Women  are  not  all  frivolous  and  foolish- 
minded  ;  there  are  some  jewels  of  simple  goodness  and 
faith  yet  left  in  the  world." 

"  Thank  God  for  your  conversion,"  returned  his  nephew 
smiling,  "  and  if  this  lovdy  girl  whom  you  have  just  intro- 


128  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

duced  to  me,  is  the  cause  of  it,  then  thank  God  for  her 
also." 

His  uncle  bowed  with  a  gravity  almost  solemn,  but  the 
ladies  returning  at  this  moment,  he  refrained  from  further 
reply.  After  supper,  to  which  unusual  meal  Mr.  Sylvester 
insisted  upon  his  nephew  remaining,  the  two  gentlemen 
again  drew  apart. 

"  If  you  have  decided  upon  buying  the  shares  I  have 
mentioned,"  said  the  former,  "you  had  better  get  your 
money  in  a  position  to  handle  at  once.  I  shall  wish  to 
present  you  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant  to-morrow,  and  I  should  like 
to  be  able  to  mention  you  as  a  future  stockholder  in  the 
bank." 

"  Mr.  Stuyvesant ! "  exclaimed  Bertram,  ignoring  the 
rest  of  the  sentence. 

"Yes,"  returned  his  uncle  with  a  smile,  "  Thaddeus 
Stuyvesant  is  the  next  largest  stockholder  to  myself  in  the 
Madison  Bank,  and  his  patronage  is  not  an  undesirable 
one." 

"  Indeed — I  was  not  aware  —  excuse  me,  I  should  be 
happy,"  stammered  the  young  man.  "  As  for  the  money,  it 
is  all  in  Governments  and  is  at  your  command  whenever 
you  please." 

"  That  is  good,  I'll  notify  you  when  I'm  ready  for  the 
transfer.  And  now  come,"  said  he,  with  a  change  from  his 
deep  business  tone  to  the  lighter  onex)f  ordinary  social  con- 
verse, "  forget  for  a  half  hour  that  you  have  discarded  the 
name  of  Mandeville,  and  give  us  an  aria  or  a  sonata  from 


TWO   MEN.  129 

Mendelssohn  before  those  hands  have  quite  lost  their  cun- 
ning." 

"  But  the  ladies,"  inquired  the  youth  glancing  towards 
the  drawing-room  where  Mrs.  Sylvester  was  giving  Paula 
her  first  lesson  in  ceramics. 

"  Ah,  it  is  to  see  how  the  charm  will  act  upon  my  shy 
country  lassie,  that  I  request  such  a  favor." 

"  Has  she  never  heard  Mendelssohn  ?  " 

"  Not  with  your  interpretation." 

Without  further  hesitation  the  young  musician  proceeded 
to  the  piano,  which  occupied  a  position  opposite  to  my  lady's 
picture  in  this  anomalous  room  denominated  by  courtesy 
the  library.  In  another  instant,  a  chord  delicate  and  ringing, 
disturbed  the  silence  of  the  long  vista,  and  one  of  Mendels- 
sohn's most  exquisite  songs  trembled  in  all  its  delicious  har- 
mony through  these  apartments  of  sensuous  luxury. 

Mr.  Sylvester  had  seated  himself  where  he  could  see*  the 
distant  figure  of  Paula,  and  leaning  back  in  his  chair,  watched 
for  the  first  startled  response  on  her  part.  He  was  not  dis- 
appointed. At  the  first  note,  he  beheld  her  spirited  head 
turn  in  a  certain  wondering  surprise,  followed  presently  by 
her  whole  quivering  form,  till  he  could  perceive  her  face, 
upon  which  were  the  dawnings  of  a  great  delight,  flush 
and  pale  by  turns,  until  the  climax  of  the  melody  being 
reached,  she  came  slowly  down  the  room,  stretching  out  her 
hands  like  a  child,  and  breathing  heavily  as  if  her  ecstacy  of 
joy  in  its  impotence  to  adequately  express  itself,  had  caught 
an  expression  from  pain. 


130  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  O  Mr.  Sylvester  !  "  was  all  she  said  as  she  reached  that 
gentleman's  side ;  but.  Bertram  Mandeville  recognized  the 
accents  of  an  unfathomable  appreciation  in  that  simple  ex- 
clamation, and  struck  into  a  grand  old  battle-song  that  had 
always  made  his  own  heart  beat  with  something  of  the  fire 
of  ancient  chivalry  under  its  breastplate  of  modern  broad- 
cloth. 

"  It  is  the  voice  of  the  thunder  clouds  when  they  marshal 
for  battle  !  "  exclaimed  she  at  the  conclusion.  "  I  can  hear 
the  cry  of  a  righteous  struggle  all  through  the  sublime  har- 
mony." 

"  You  are  right ;  it  is  a  war-song  ancient  as  the  time  of 
battle-axes  and  spears,"  quoth  Bertram  from  his  seat  at  the 
piano. 

"  I  thought  I  detected  the  flashing  of  steel,"  returned 
she.  "  O  what  a  world  lies  in  those  simple  bits  of  ivory  !  " 

*"  Say  rather  in  the  fingers  that  sweep  them,"  uttered  Mr. 
Sylvester.  "  You  will  not  hear  such  music  often." 

"  I  am  glad  of  that,"  she  cried  simply,  then  in  a  quick 
conscious  tone  explained,  "  I  mean  that  the  hearing  of  such 
music  makes  an  era  in  our  life,  a  starting-point  for  thoughts 
that  reach  away  into  eternity  ;  we  could  not  bear  such  ex- 
periences often,  it  would  confuse  the  spirit  if  not  deaden  its 
enjoyment.  Or  so  it  seems  to  me,"  she  added  naively, 
glancing  at  her  cousin  who  now  came  sweeping  in  from  the 
further  room,  where  she  had  been  trying  the  effect  of  a 
change  in  the  arran  gement  of  two  little  pet  monstrosities  of 
Japanese  ware. 


TWO  MEN.  131 

"  What  seems  to  you  ?  "  that  lady  inquired.  "  O,  Mr. 
Mandeville's  playing  ?  I  beg  pardon,  Sylvester  is  the  name 
by  which  you  now  wish  to  be  addressed  I  suppose.  Fine, 
isn't  it  ? "  she  rambled  on  all  in  the  same  tone  while  she 
cautiously  hid  an  unfortunate  gape  of  her  rosy  mouth  behind 
the  folds  of  her  airy  handkerchief.  "  Mr.  Turner  says  the 
hiatus  you  have  made  in  the  musical  world  by  leaving  the 
concert  room  for  the  desk,  can  never  be  repaired,"  she  went 
on,  supposedly  to  her  nephew  though  she  did  not  look  his 
way,  being  at  that  instant  engaged  in  sinking  into  her  favor- 
ite chair. 

"  I  am  glad,"  Bertram  politely  returned  with  a  frank 
smile,  "  to  have  enjoyed  the  approval  of  so  cultivated  a 
critic  as  Mr.  Turner.  I  own  it  occasions  me  a  pang  now 
and  then,"  he  remarked  to  his  uncle  over  his  shoulder,  "  to 
think  I  shall  never  again  call  up  those  looks  of  self-forgetful 
delight,  which  I  have  sometimes  detected  on  the  faces  of  cer- 
tain ones  in  my  audience." 

And  he  relapsed  without  pause  into  a  solemn  anthem, 
the  very  reverse  of  the  stirring  tones  which  he  had  previ- 
ously accorded  them. 

"  Now  we  are  in  a  temple  !  "  whispered  Paula,  subduing 
the  sudden  interest  and  curiosity  which  this  young  man's 
last  words  had  awakened.  And  the  awe  which  crept  over 
her  countenance  was  the  fittest  interpretation  to  those  noble 
sounds,  which  the  one  weary-hearted  man  in  that  room  could 
have  found. 

"  I  have  something  to  tell  you,  Ona,"  remarked  Mr.  Syl- 


I32  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

vester  shortly  after  this,  as  the  music  being  over,  they  all  sat 
down  for  a  final  chat  about  the  fireside.  "  I  have  received 
notice  that  the  directors  of  the  Madison  Bank  have  this  day 
elected  me  their  president.  I  thought  you  might  like  to 
know  it  to-night." 

"  It  is  a  very  gratifying  piece  of  news  certainly.  Presi- 
dent of  the  Madison  Bank  sounds  very  well,  does  it  not, 
Paula  ?  " 

The  young  girl  with  her  soul  yet  ringing  with  the  grand 
and  solemn  harmonies  of  Mendelssohn  and  Chopin,  turned  at 
this  with  her  brightest  smile.  "  It  certainly  does  and  a  little 
awe-inspiring  too  ; "  she  added  with  her  arch  glance. 

"  Your  congratulations  are  also  requested  for  our  new 
assistant  cashier.  Arise,  Bertram,  and  greet  the  ladies." 

With  a  blush  his  young  nephew  arose  to  his  feet. 

"  What !  are  you  going  into  the  banking  business  ?  "  que- 
ried Mrs.  Sylvester.  "  Mr.  Turner  will  be  more  shocked  than 
ever  :  he  chooses  to  say  that  bankers,  merchants  and  such 
are  the  solid  rock  of  his  church,  while  the  lighter  fry  such 
as  artists,  musicians,  and  let  us  hope  he  includes  us  ladies, 
are  its  minarets. and  steeples.  Now  to  make  a  foundation 
out  of  a  steeple  will  quite  overturn  his  methodical  mind  I 
fear." 

Mr.  Sylvester  looked  genially  at  his  wife  ;  she  was  not 
accustomed  to  attempt  the  facetious ;  but  Paula  seemed  to 
have  the  power  of  bringing  out  unexpected  lights  and  shad- 
ows from  all  with  whom  she  came  in  contact. 

"  A  clergyman  who   rears   his  church   on  the  basis  ol 


TWO  MEN.  133 

wealth  must  expect  some  overturning  now  and  then,"  laughed 
he. 

"  If  by  means  of  it  he  turns  a  fresh  side  to  the  sun,  it 
will  do  him  no  harm,"  chimed  in  Paula. 

Seldom  had  there  been  so  much  simple  gaiety  round  that 
fireside  ;  the  very  atmosphere  grew  lighter,  and  the  brilliance 
of  my  lady's  picture  became  less  oppressive. 

"  We  ought  to  have  a  happy  winter  of  it,"  spoke  up  Mr. 
Sylvester  with  a  glance  around  him.  "  Life  never  looked 
more  cheerful  for  us  all,  I  think ;  what  do  you  say,  Bertram 
my  boy." 

"  It  certainly  looks  promising  for  me." 

"And  for  me,"  murmured  Paula. 

The  complacent  way  with  which  Mrs.  Sylvester  smoothed 
out  the  feathers  of  her  fan  with  her  jewelled  right  hand, 
— she  always  carried  a  fan  winter  and  summer,  some  said  for 
the  purpose  of  displaying  those  same  jewelled  fingers — was 
sufficient  answer  for  her. 

.  At  that  moment  there  was  a  hush,  when  suddenly  the 
small  clock  on  the  mantel-piece  struck  eleven,  and  instantly 
as  if  awaiting  the  signal,  there  came  a  rush  and  a  heavy 
crash  which  drew  every  one  to  their  feet,  and  the  brilliant 
portrait  of  my  lady  fell  from  the  wall,  and  toppling  over  the 
cabinet  beneath,  slid  with  the  various  articles  of  bronze  and 
china  thereon,  almost  to  the  very  chair  in  which  its  hand- 
some prototype  had  been  sitting. 

It  was  a  startling  interruption  and  for  an  instant  no  one 
spoke,  then  Paula  with  a  look  towards. her  cousin  breathed 


134  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

to  herself  rather  than  said,  "  Pray  God  it  be  not  an  omen  !  " 
And  the  pale  countenances  of  the  two  gentlemen  standing 
face  to  face  on  either  side  of  that  fallen  picture,  showed  that 
the  shadow  of  the  same  superstition  had  insensibly  crossed 
their  own  minds. 

Mrs.  Sylvester  was  the  only  one  who  remained  unmoved. 
"  Lift  it  up,"  cried  she,  "  and  let  us  see  if  it  has  sustained 
any  injury." 

Instantly  Bertram  and  her  husband  sprang  forward,  and 
in  a  moment  its  glowing  surface  was  turned  upward.  Who 
could  read  the  meaning  of  the  look  that  crossed  her  hus- 
band's face  as  he  perceived  that  the  sharp  spear  of  the 
bronze  horseman,  which  had  been  overturned  in  the  fall,  had 
penetrated  the  rosy  countenance  of  the  portrait  and  de- 
stroyed that  importunate  smile  forever. 

"I  suppose  it  is  a  judgment  upon  me  for  putting  all  the 
money  you  had  allowed  me  for  charitable  purposes,  into  that 
exquisite  bit  of  bronze,"  observed  Mrs.  Sylvester,  stooping 
above  the  overturned  horseman  with  an  expression  of  regret 
she  had  not  chosen  to  bestow  on  her  own  ruined  picture. 
"  Ah  he  is  less  of  a  champion  than  I  imagined  ;  he  has  lost 
his  spear  in  the  struggle." 

Paula  glanced  at  her  cousin  in  surprise.  Was  this  pleas- 
antry only  a  veil  assumed  by  this  courtly  lady  to  hide 
her  very  natural  regret  over  the  more  serious  accident  ? 
Even  her  husband  turned  toward  her  with  a  certain  puz- 
zled inquiry  in  his  troubled  countenance.  But  her  expres- 
sion of  unconcern  was  too  natural ;  evidently  the  destruc- 


TWO  MEN.  135 

tion  of  the  picture  had  awakened  but  small  regret  in  her  vol- 
atile mind. 

"  She  is  less  vain  than  I  thought,"  was  the  inward  com- 
ment of  Paula. 

Ah  simple  child  of  the  woods  and  streams,  it  is  the  ex- 
tent of  her  vanity  not  the  lack  of  it,  that  has  produced  this 
effect.  She  has  begun  to  realize  that  ten  years  have  elapsed 
since  this  picture  was  painted,  and  that  people  are  begin- 
ning to  say  as  they  examine  it,  "  Mrs.  Sylvester  has  not  yet 
lost  her  complexion,  I  see." 

A  break  necessarily  followed  this  disturbance,  and  before 
long  Bertram  took  his  leave,  not  without  a  cordial  pressure 
•  from  his  uncle's  hand  and  a  look  of  kindly  interest  from  the 
stranger  lassie,  upon  whose  sympathetic  and  imaginative 
mind  the  hints  let  fall  as  to  his  former  profession,  had  pro- 
duced a  deep  impression.  With  his  departure  Mrs.  Sylves- 
ter's weariness  returned,  and  ere  long  she  led  the  way  to 
her  apartments  up  stairs.  As  Paula  was  hastening  to  follow 
Mr.  Sylvester  stopped  her. 

"  You  will  not  allow  this  unfortunate  occurrence,"  he 
said,  with  a  slight  gesture  towards  the  picture  now  standing 
with  its  face  against  the  wall,  "  to  mar  your  first  sleep  under 
my  roof,  will  you  Paula,  my  child  ?  " 

"  No,  not  if  you  say  that  you  think  Cousin  Ona  will  not 
be  likely  to  connect  it  with  my  appearance  here." 

"  I  do  not  think  she  will ;  she  is  not  superstitious  and  be- 
sides does  not  seem  to  greatly  regret  the  misfortune." 

"  Then  I  will  forget  it  all  and  only  remember  the  music." 


136  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  It  was  all  you  anticipated. 

"  It  was  more." 

"  Sometime  I  will  tell  you  about  the  player  and  the  sweet 
young  girl  he  loves." 

"  Does  he — "  she  paused,  blushing  ;  love  was  a  subject 
upon  which  she  had  never  yet  spoken  to  any  one. 

"  Yes  he  does,"  Mr.  Sylvester  returned  smiling. 

"I  thought  there  was  a  meaning  in  the  music  I  did  not 
quite  understand.  Good  night,  uncle," — he  had  requested 
her  to  address  him  thus  though  he  was  in  truth  her  cousin, 
"  and  many,  many  thanks." 

But  he  stopped  her  again.  "You  think  you  will  be 
happy  in  these  rooms,"  said  he  ;  "you  love  splendor." 

She  was  not  yet  sufficiently  acquainted  with  his  voice  to 
detect  the  regret  underlying  its  kindly  tone,  and  answered 
without  suspicion.  "  I  did  not  know  it  before,  but  I  fear 
that  I  do.  It  dazzled  at  first,  but  now  it  seems  as  if  I  had 
reached  a  home  towards  which  I  had  always  been  jour- 
neying. I  shall  dream  away  hours  of  joy  before  each  little 
ornament  that  adorns  your  parlors.  The  very  tiles  that  sur- 
round the  fireplace  will  demand  a  week  of  attention  at  least- 
She  ended  with  a  smile,  but  unlike  formerly  he  did  not 
seem  to  catch  the  infection.  "  I  had  rather  you  had  cared 
-less,"  said  he,  but  instantly  regretted  the  seeming  reproach, 
for  her  eyes  filled  with  tears  and  the  tones  of  her  voice  trem- 
bled as  she  replied, 

"  Do  you  think  the  beauty  I  have  seen  has  made  me  for- 
get the  kindness  that  has  brought  me  here  ?  I  love  fine  and 


TWO  MEX.  137 

noble  objects,  glory  of  color  and  harmony  of  shape,  but  more 
than  all  these  do  I  love  a  generous  soul  without  a  blot  on  its 
purity,  or  a  flaw  in  its  integrity." 

She  had  meant  to  utter  something  that  would  show  her 
appreciation  of  his  goodness  and  the  universal  esteem  in 
which  he  was  held,  but  was  quite  unprepared  for  the  start 
that  he  gave  and  the  unmistakable  deepening  of  the  shadow 
on  his  sombre  face.  But  before  she  could  express  her  regret 
at  the  offence,  whatever  it  was,  he  had  recovered  himself, 
and  it  was  with  a  fatherly  tenderness  that  he  laid  his  hand 
upon  hers  while  he  said,  "  Such  a  soul  may  yours  ever  con- 
tinue, my  child,"  and  then  stood  watching  her  as  she  glided 
up  the  stairs,  her  charming  face  showing  every  now  and  then 
as  she  leaned  on  her  winding  way  to  the  top,  to  bestow  upon 
him  the  tender  little  smile  she  had  already  learned  was  his 
solace  and  delight. 

It  'vas  the  beginning  of  happier  days  for  him. 


BOOK   II. 

LIFE  AND   DEATH. 
XIV. 

MISS   BELINDA    HAS    A    QUESTION    TO    DECIDE. 

"  I  pray  you  in  your  letters, 

Speak  of  me  as  I  am  ;  nothing  extenuate. 

Nor  set  down  aught  in  malice."  — OTHELLO. 

Miss  BELINDA  sitting  before  her  bedroom  fire  on  a  cer- 
tain windy  night  in  January,  presented  a  picture  of  the  most 
profound  thought.  A  year  had  elapsed  since,  with  heavy 
heart  and  moistened  eye,  she  had  bidden  good-bye  to  the 
child  of  her  care,  and  beheld  her  drift  away  with  her  new 
friend  into  a  strange  and  untried  life.  And  now  a  letter  had 
come  from  that  friend,  in  which  with  the  truest  appreciation 
for  the  feelings  of  herself  and  sister,  he  requested  their  final 
permission  to  adopt  Paula  as  his  own  child  and  the  future 
occupant  of  his  house  and  heart. 

Yes,  after  a  year  of  increased  comfort,  Mrs.  Sylvester, 
who  would  never  have  consented  to  receive  as  her  own  any 
child  demanding  care  or  attention,  had  decided  it  was  quite 
a  different  matter  to  give  place  and  position  to  a  lovely  girl 
already  grown,  whose  beauty  was  sufficiently  pronounced  to 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  139 

do  credit  to  the  family  while  at  the  same  time  it  was  of  a 
character  to  heighten  by  contrast  her  own  very  manifest  at- 
tractions. So  the  letter,  destined  to  create  such  a  disturb- 
ance in  the  stern  and  powerful  mind  of  Miss  Belinda,  had 
been  written  and  dispatched. 

And  indeed  it  was  matter  for  the  gravest  reflection.  To 
accede  to  this  important  request  was  to  yield  up  all  control 
over  the  dear  young  girl  whose  affection  had  constituted  the 
brightness  of  this  somewhat  disappointed  life,  while  to  refuse 
an  offer  made  with  such  evident  love  and  anxiety,  was  to 
bring  a  pang  of  regret  to  a  heart  she  hesitated  to  wound. 
The  question  of  advantage  which  might  have  swayed  others 
in  their  decision,  did  not  in  the  least  affect  Miss  Belinda. 
Now  that  Paula  had  seen  the  world  and  gained  an  insight 
into  certain  studies  beyond  the  reach'  of  her  own  attain- 
ments, any  wishes  in  which  she  might  have  indulged  on  that 
score,  were  satisfied,  and  mere  wealth  with  its  concomitant 
of  luxuriant  living,  she  regarded  with  distrust,  and  rather  in 
the  light  of  a  stumbling-block  to  the  great  and  grand  end  of 
all  existence. 

Suddenly  with  that  energy  which  characterized  all  her 
movements,  she  rose  from  her  seat,  and  first  casting  a  look 
of  somewhat  cautious  inquiry  at  the  recumbent  figure  of  her 
sister,  asleep  in  the  heavy  old  fashioned  bed  that  occupied 
one  corner  of  the  room,  she  proceeded  to  a  bureau  drawer 
and  took  out  a  small  box  which  she  unlocked  on  the  table. 
It  was  full  of  letters  ;  those  same  honest  epistles,  which,  as 
empowered  by  Mr.  Sylvester,  she  had  requested  Paula  to 


140  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

send  her  from  week  to  week.  Some  of  them  were  a  year 
old,  but  she  read  them  all  carefully  through,  while  the 
clock  ticked  on  the  shelf  and  the  wind  soughed  in  the  chim- 
ney". Certain  passages  she  marked,  and  when  she  had  fin- 
ished the  pile,  she  took  up  the  letters  again  and  re-read  those 
passages.  They  were  necessarily  desultory  in  their  charac- 
ter, -but  they  all  had,  in  her  mind  at  least,  a  bearing  upon  the 
question  on  hand,  and  as  such,  I  give  them  to  my  readers. 

"  O  aunty,  I  have  made  a  friend,  a  sweet  girl  friend  who 
I  have  reason  to  hope  will  henceforth  be  to  me  as  my  other 
eye  and  hand.  Her  name  is  Stuyvesant — a  name  by  the 
way  that  always  calls  up  a  certain  complacent  smile  on 
Cousin  Ona's  countenance — and  she  is  the  daughter  of  one 
of  the  directors  of  'Mr.  Sylvester's  bank.  I  met  her  in  a 
rather  curious  way.  For  some  reason  Ona  had  expressed  a 
wish  for  me  to  ride  horseback.  She  is  rather  too  large  for 
the  exercise  herself,  but  thought  it  looked  well,  she  said,  to 
see  a  lady  and  groom  ride  from  the  front  of  the  house ; 
moreover  it  would  keep  me  in  color  by  establishing  my 
health.  So  Mr.  Sylvester  who  denies  her  nothing,  promised 
us  horses  and  the  groom,  and  as  a  preparation  for  acquitting 
myself  with  credit,  has  sent  me  to  one  of  the  finest  riding 
academies  in  the  city.  It  was  here  I  met  Miss  Stuyvesant. 
She  is  a  small  interesting-looking  girl  whose  chief  beauty 
lies  in  her  expression  which  is  certainly  very  charming.  I 
was  conscious  of  a  calm  and  satisfied  feeling  the  moment  I 
saw  her.  Her  eyes  which  are  raised  with  a  certain  appeal 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  14! 

to  your  face,  are  blue,  while  her  lips  that  break  into  smiles 
only  at  rare  moments,  are  rosy  and  delicately  curved.  In 
her  riding-habit  she  looks  like  a  child,  but  when  dressed  for 
the  street  she  surprises  you  with  the  reserved  and  womanly 
air  with  which  she  carries  her  proud  head.  Altogether  she 
is  a  sweet  study  to  me,  alluring  me  with  her  glance  yet  aw- 
ing me  by  her  dainty  ladyhood,  a  ladyhood  too  uncon- 
scious to  be  affected  and  yet  so  completely  a  part  of  her 
whole  delicate  being,  that  you  could  as  soon  dissociate  the 
bloom  from  the  rose,  as  the  air  of  highborn  reserve,  from 
this  sweet  scion  of  one  of  New  York's  oldest  families. 

"  I  was  mounting  my  horse  when  our  eyes  first  met,  and 
I  never  shall  forget  her  look  of  delighted  surprise.  Did  she 
recognize  in  me  the  friend  I  now  hope  to  become  ?  Later 
we  were  introduced  and  by  Mr.  Sylvester  who  had  been  so 
kind  as  to  accompany  me  that  day.  The  way  in  which  he 
said  to  her,  "  This  is  Paula,"  proved  that  I  was  no  new  topic 
of  conversation  between  them,  and  indeed  she  afterwards  ex- 
plained to  me  that  she  had  been  forewarned  of  my  arrival 
during  an  afternoon  call  at  his  house.  There  was  in  this 
first  interview  none  of  the  unnecessary  gush  which  you  have 
so  often  reprobated  as  childish  ;  indeed  Miss  Stuyvesant  is 
not  a  person  with  whom  one  would  presume  to  be  familiar, 
nor  was  it  till  we  had  met  several  times  that  any  acknowl- 
edgement was  made  of  the  mutual  interest  with  which  we 
found  ourselves  inspired.  Cousin  Ona  to  whom  I  had  natu- 
rally spoken  of  the  little  lady,  wished  me  to  cultivate  her  ac- 
quaintance more  assiduously,  but  I  knew  that  if  I  had  excited 


I42  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

in  her  the  same  interest  she  had  awakened  in  me,  this  would 
not  be  necessary  ;  our  friendship  would  grow  of  itself  and 
blossom  without  any  hot-house  forcing.  And  so  it  did. 
One  day  she  came  to  the  riding-school  with  her  eyes  like 
stars  and  her  cheeks  like  the  oleanders  in  your  sitting-room. 
Her  brightness  was  so  contagious,  I  stepped  up  to  her.  But 
she  greeted  me  with  almost  formal  reserve,  and  mounting 
her  horse,  proceeded  to  engage  in  her  usual  exercise.  I  was 
not  hurt ;  I  recognized  the  presence  of  some  thought  or 
feeling  which  made  a  barrier  around  her  sensitive  nature, 
and  duly  respected  it.  Mounting  my  own  horse,  I  rode 
around  the  ring  which  is  the  somewhat  limited  field  of  my 
present  equestrian  efforts,  and  waited.  For  I  knew  from 
the  looks  which  she  cast  me  every  now  and  then,  that  the 
flo\ver  of  our  friendship  was  outgrowing  its  sheath  and  would 
soon  burst  into  the  bud  of  perfect  understanding.  At  the 
end  of  the  lesson  we  approached  each  other.  I  do  not  know 
how  it  was  done,  but  we  walked  home  together,  or  rather  I 
accompanied  her  to  the  stoop  of  her  house,  and  before  we 
parted  we  had  exchanged  those  words  which  give  emphasis 
to  a  sentiment  long  cherished  but  now  for  the  first  time 
avowed.  Miss  Stuyvesant  and  I  are  friends,  and  I  feel 
as  though  a  new  stream  of  enjoyment  had  opened  in  my 
breast. 

"  The  fact  that  I  still  call  her  by  this  formal  title  instead 
of  her  very  pretty  name  of  Cicely,  proves  the  nature  of 
the  respect  she  inspires  even  in  the  breasts  of  her  girlish 
associates." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  143 

"  Why  is  it  that  I  frequently  hesitate  as  I  go  up  the 
stairs  and  look  about  me  with  a  vague  feeling  of  appre- 
hension ?  The  bronze  figure  of  Luxury  that  adorns  the 
landing,  wears  no  semblance  of  terror  to  the  wildest  im- 
agination, and  yet  I  often  find  myself  seized  by  an  inex- 
plicable shudder  as  I  hurry  past  it ;  and  once  I  actually 
looked  behind  me  with  the  same  sensation  as  if  some  one 
had  plucked  me  by  the  sleeve. 

"  It  is  a  folly  ;  for  recording  which,  I  make  my  excuses." 

"  Cousin  Ona  has  decided  that  I  must  never  wear  colors. 
'  Soft  grays,  my  dear,  dead  blacks  and  opaque  whites  are 
all  that  you  need  to  bring  out  the  fine  contrast  of  your 
hair  and  complexion  ;  the  least  hint  of  blue  or  pink  would 
destroy  it.'  So  she  says  and  so  I  must  believe,  for  who  else 
has  made  such  a  study  of  the  all  important  subject  of  dress. 
Behold  me,  then,  arrayed  for  my  first  reception  in  a  color- 
less robe  of  rich  silk  to  which  Ona  after  long  considera- 
tion allowed  me  to  add  some  ornaments  of  plain  gold  with 
which  Mr.  Sylvester  has  kindly  presented  me.  But  I  think 
more  of  the  people  I  am  going  to  meet  than  of  anything 
else,  though  I  enjoy  the  home-feeling  which  a  pretty  dress 
gives  me,  as  well  as  a  violet  does  its  bright  blue  coat." 

"  I  have  heard  a  great  preacher  !  What  shall  I  say  ? 
At  first  it  seems  as  if  nothing  could  express  my  joy  and 
satisfaction.  The  sapling  that  is  shaken  to  its  root  by  the 
winds  of  heaven,  keeps  silence  I  imagine.  But  O  Aunty, 


144  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

if  my  smallness  makes  me  quake,  it  also  makes  me  feel. 
What  gates  of  thought  have  been  opened  to  me  !  What 
shining  tracks  of  inquiry  pointed  out  !  I  feel  as  if  I  had 
been  shown  a  path  where  angels  walked.  Can  it  be  that 
such  words  have  been  uttered  every  week  of  my  life  and 
I  in  ignorance  of  them  ?  It  is  like  the  revelation  of  the 
ocean  to  unaccustomed  eyes.  Henceforth  small  things  must 
seem  like  pebble  stones  above  which  stretch  innumerable 
heavenly  vistas.  It  is  not  so  much  that  new  things  have 
been  revealed  to  me  as  that  old  things  have  been  made 
strangely  eloquent.  The  voice  of  a  daisy  on  the  hill  side, 
the  breath  of  thunder  in  the  mountain  gorges,  the  blossom- 
ing of  a  child's  smile  under  its  mother's  eye,  the  fact  that 
golden  portals  are  opened  in  every  life  for  the  coming  and 
going  of  the  messengers  of  God,  all  have  been  made  real 
to  me,  real  as  the  voice  of  the  Saviour  to  his  disciples  as 
they  walked  in  the  fields  or  started  back  awe-stricken  from 
the  stupendous  vision  of  the  cross.  It  is  a  solemn  thing 
to  see  one's  humble  thoughts  caught  by  the  imagination  of  a 
great  mind  and  carried  on  and  up  into  regions  you  never 
realized  existed. 

"  I  was  so  burdened  with  joy  that  I  could  not  forbear 
asking  Mr.  Sylvester  if  he  did  not  feel  as  if  the  whole  face 
of  the  world  had  changed  since  we  entered  those  holy  doors. 
He  did  not  respond  with  the  glad  '  Yes '  for  which  I  hoped, 
and  though  his  smile  was  very  kind,  I  could  not  help  won- 
dering what  it  was  that  sometimes  fell  between  us  like  a 
veil." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  1 45 

"  O  Aunty,  how  my  heart  does  yearn  towards  Mr.  Syl- 
vester at  times  !  As  I  see  him  sitting  with  clouded  brow  in 
the  midst  of  so  much  that  ought  to  charm  and  enliven  him, 
I  ask  myself  if  the  advantages  of  wealth  compensate  for  all 
this  care  and  anxiety.  But  I  notice  he  is  much  more  cheer- 
ful now  than  when  I  first  came.  Ona  says  he  is  in  danger 
of  losing  the  air  of  melancholy  reserve  which  made  him  look 
so  distinguished,  but  I  think  we  can  spare  a  little  of  such 
doubtful  distinguishment  for  the  sake  of  the  smiles  with 
which  he  now  and  then  indulges  us." 

"  I  feel  as  if  a  hand  had  gripped  my  throat.  Cousin  Ona 
spoke  to  Mr.  Sylvester  this  morning  in  a  way  that  made  my 
very  heart  stand  still.  And  yet  it  was  only  a  simple,  '  Fol- 
low your  own  judgment,  Mr.  Sylvester.'  But  how  she  said 
it  !  Do  these  languid  women  carry  venom  in  their  tongues  ? 
I  had  always  thought  she  was  of  too  easy  a  disposition  to 
feel  anger  or  display  it ;  but  the  spring  of  a  serpent  is  all  the 
deadlier  for  his  long  silent  basking  in  the  sun.  O  pardon 
me  for  making  such  a  frightful  allusion.  But  if  you  had 
seen  her  and  heard  Mr.  Sylvester's  sigh  as  he  turned  and 
left  the  room  !  " 

"  Mr.  Bertram  Sylvester  has  awakened  my  deepest  inter- 
est. His  uncle  has  told  me  his  story,  which  alone  of  all  the 
things  I  have  heard  in  this  house,  I  do  not  feel  at  liberty  to 
repeat,  and  it  has  aroused  in  me  strange  thoughts  and  very 
peculiar  emotions.  He  is  devoted  to  some  one  we  do  not 


146  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

know,  and  the  idea  surrounds  him  in  my  eyes  with  a  sort  of 
halo  that  you  would  perhaps  call  fanciful,  but  which  I  am 
nevertheless  bound  to  reverence.  He  does  not  know  that  I 
am  acquainted  with  his  story.  I  wish  he  did  and  would  let 
me  speak  the  words  that  rise  to  my  lips  whenever  I  see  him 
or  hear  him  play." 

"  There  are  moments  when  I  long  to  flee  back  to  Grote- 
well.  It  is  when  Cousin  Ona  comes  in  from  shopping  with 
a  dozen  packages  to  be  opened  and  commented  upon,  or 
when  Mrs.  Fitzgerald  has  been  here  or  some  other  of  her 
ultra-fashionable  acquaintances.  The  atmosphere  of  the 
house  for  hours  after  either  of  the  above  occurrences  is  too 
heavy  for  breathing.  I  have  to  go  away  and  clear  my  brain 
by  a  brisk  walk  or  a  look  into  Knoedler's  or  Schaus'." 

"  The  panel  where  Cousin  Ona's  picture  used  to  hang, 
has  been  filled  by  one  of  Meissonier's  most  interesting 
studies  ;  and  though  I  never  thought  Mr.  Sylvester  particu- 
larly fond  of  the  French  style  of  art,  he  seems  very  well 
satisfied  with  the  result.  I  cannot  understand  how  Cousin 
Ona  can  regard  the  misfortune  to  her  portrait  so  calmly. 
I  think  it  would  break  my  heart  to  see  a  husband  look  with 
complacency  on  any  picture,  no  matter  how  exquisite,  that 
took  the  place  of  my  own,  especially  if  like  her's,  it  was 
painted  in  my  bridal  days.  I  sometimes  wonder  if  those 
days  are  as  sacred  to  the  memory  of  husband  and  wife  as  I 
have  always  imagined  them  to  be." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  147 

"  Why  does  Cousin  Ona  never  speak  of  Grotewell,  and 
why,  if  by  chance  I  mention  the  name,  does  she  drop  her 
eyes  and  a  shadow  cross  the  countenance  of  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter?" 

"  There  is  a  word  Mr.  Sylvester  uses  in  the  most  curious 
way  ;  it  is  fuss.  He  calls  everything  a  fuss  that  while  insig- 
nificant in  size  or  character  has  power  either  to  irritate  or 
please.  A  fly  is  a  fuss  ;  so  is  a  dimple  in  a  girl's  cheek  or  a 
figure  that  goes  wrong  in  accounts.  I  have  even  heard  him 
call  a  child,  '  That  dear  little  fuss.'  Bertram  unconsciously 
imitates  his  uncle  in  this  peculiar  mannerism  and  is  often 
heard  alluding  to  this  or  that  as  a.  fuss  of  fusses.  Indeed 
they  say  this  use  of  the  word  is  a  peculiarity  of  the  Sylvester 
family." 

"  I  think  from  the  way  Mr.  Sylvester  spoke  yesterday, 
that  he  must  have  experienced  some  dreadful  trouble  in  his 
life.  We  were  walking  in  the  wards  of  a  hospital — that  is, 
Miss  Stuyvesant,  Mr.  Sylvester  and  myself — when  some  one 
near  us  gave  utterance  to  the  trite  expression,  '  O  it  will  heal, 
but  the  scar  will  always  remain.'  '  That  is  a  common  say- 
ing,' remarked  Mr.  Sylvester,  '  but  how  true  a  one  no  one 
realizes  but  he  who  carries  the  scar. ' ' 

"  It  may  be  imagination  or  simply  the  effect  of  in- 
creased appreciation  on  my  part,  but  it  does  seem  as  if  Miss 
Stuyvesant  grew  lovelier  and  more  companionable  each  time 


148  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

that  I  meet  her.  She  makes  me  think  of  a  temple  in  which 
A  holy  lamp  is  burning.  Her  very  silences  are  eloquent,  and 
yet  she  is  never  distraite  but  always  cheerful  and  frequently 
the  brightest  of  the  company.  But  it  is  a  brightness  without 
glitter,  a  gentle  lustre  that  delights  you  but  never  astonishes. 
I  meet  many  sweet  girls  in  the  so-called  heartless  circles  of 
society,  but  none  like  her.  She  is  my  white  lily  on  which  a 
moonbeam  rests." 

"  This  house  contains  a  mystery,  as  Ona  is  pleased  to 
designate  the  room  at  the  top  of  the  house  to  which  Mr.  Syl- 
vester withdraws  when  he  desires  to  be  alone.  And  indeed 
it  is  a  sort  of  Bluebeard's  chamber,  in  that  he  keeps  it  rigidly 
under  lock  and  key,  allowing  no  one  to  enter  it,  not  even  his 
wife.  The  servants  declare  that  no  one  but  himself  has  ever 
crossed  its  threshold,  but  I  can  scarcely  believe  that.  Ona 
has  not,  but  there  must  surely  be  some  trusty  person  to 
whom  he  allots  the  care  of  its  furniture.  Am  I  only  prov- 
ing myself  to  be  a  true  member  of  my  sex  when  I  allow  that 
I  cannot  hinder  my  own  curiosity  from  hovering  about  a 
spot  so  religiously  guarded  ?  Yet  what  should  we  see  if  its 
doors  were  thrown  open  ?  A  study  surrounded  with  books 
it  displeases  him  to  see  misplaced,  or  a  luxurious  apartment 
fitted  with  every  appointment  necessary  to  rest  and  comfort 
him  when  he  comes  home  tired  from  business." 

"  I  never  saw  Mr.  Sylvester  angry  till  to-day.  By  some 
inadvertence  he  went  down  town  without  locking  the  door 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  149 

of  his  private  room,  and  though  he  returned  immediately 
upon  missing  the  key  from  his  pocket,  he  was  barely  in  time 
to  prevent  Cousin  Ona  from  invading  the  spot  he  has  always 
kept  so  sacred  from  intrusion.  I  was  not  present  and  of 
course  did  not  hear  what  was  said,  but  I  caught  a  glimpse  of 
his  face  as  he  left  the  house,  and  fouYid  it  quite  sufficient 
to  assure  me  of  his  dissatisfaction.  As  for  Ona,  she  declares 
he  pulled  her  back  as  if  she  had  been  daring  the  plague.  '  I 
do  not  expect  to  find  five  beautiful  wives  hanging  up  there 
by  their  necks,'  concluded  she  with  a  forced  laugh,  'but  I 
shall  yet  see  the  interior  of  that  room,  if  only  to  establish  my 
prerogative  as  the  mistress  of  this  house.' 

"  I  do  not  now  feel  as  if  I  wished  to  see  it." 

"  There  is  one  thing  that  strikes  me  as  peculiar  in  Miss 
Stuyvesant,  and  that  is,  that  as  much  pleasure  as  she  seems 
to  take  in  my  society  when  we  meet,  she  never  comes  to  see 
me  in  Mr.  Sylvester's  house.  For  a  long  time  I  wondered 
over  this  but  said  nothing,  but  one  day  upon  receiving  a  sec- 
ond invitation  to  visit  her,  I  mentioned  the  fact  as  delicately 
as  I  could,  and  was  quite  distressed  to  observe  how  seriously 
she  took  the  rebuke,  if  rebuke  it  could  be  called.  '  I  cannot 
explain  myself/  she  murmured  in  some  embarrassment;  'but 
Mr.  Sylvester's  house  is  closed  against  me.  You  must  not 
ask  me  to  seek  you  there  or  expect  me  to  do  myself  the 
pleasure  of  attending  Mrs.  Sylvester's  receptions.  I  cannot. 
Is  that  enough  for  me  to  say  to  my  dearest  friend  ?  '  I  hardly 
knew  what  to  reply,  but  finally  ventured  to  inquire  if  she 


ISO  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

was  restrained  by  any  fact  that  would  make  it  undignified  in 
me  to  seek  her  society  and  enjoy  the  pleasures  she  is  con- 
tinually offering  me.  And  she  answered  with  such  a  cheer- 
ful negative  I  was  quite  reassured.  And  so  the  matter  is 
settled.  Our  friendship  is  to  be  emancipated  from  the  bonds 
of  etiquette  and  I  am  to  enjoy  her  company  whenever  I  can. 
To-morrow  we  are  going  to  take  our  first  ride  in  the  park. 
The  horses  have  been  bought,  and  much  to  Cousin  Ona's 
satisfaction,  the  groom  has  been  hired." 

"  I  was  told  something  the  other  day,  of  a  nature  so  un- 
pleasant that  I  should  not  think  of  repeating  it,  if  you  had 
not  expressly  commanded  me  to  confide  to  you  everything 
that  for  any  reason  produced  an  effect  upon  me  in  my  new 
home.  My  informant  was  Sarah,  the  somewhat  gossiping 
woman  whom  Ona  has  about  her  as  seamstress  and  maid. 
She  said — and  she  had  spoken  before  I  could  prevent  her — 
that  the  way  Mrs.  Sylvester  took  on  about  her  mourning  at 
the  time  of  little  Geraldine's  death  was  enough  to  wear  out 
the  patience  of  Job.  She  even  went  so  far  as  to  tell  the 
dressmaker  that  if  she  could  not  have  her  dress  made  to  suit 
her  she  would  not  put  on  mourning  at  all !  Aunty,  can  you 
wonder  that  Mr.  Sylvester  looks  so  bitterly  sombre  whenever 
mention  is  made  of  his  child  ?  He  loved  it,  and  its  own 
mother  could  worry  over  the  fit  of  a  dress  while  his  bereaved 
heart  was  breaking !  I  confess  I  can  never  feel  the  same 
indulgence  towards  what  I  considered  the  idiosyncrasies  of 
a  fashionable  beauty  again.  Her  smooth  white  skin  makes 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  I$I 

me  tremble  ;  it  has  never  flushed  with  delight  over  the  in- 
nocent smiles  of  her  firstborn." 

"  Mr.  Sylvester  is  very  polite  to  Cousin  Ona  and  seems 
to  yield  to  her  wishes  in  everything.  But  if  I  were  she  I 
think  my  heart  would  break  over  that  very  politeness.  But 
then  she  is  one  who  demands  formality  even  from  the  per- 
sons of  her  household.  I  have  never  seen  him  stoop  for  a 
kiss  or  beheld  her  even  so  much  as  lay  her  hand  on  his 
shoulder.  But  I  have  observed  him  wait  on  her  at  moments 
when  he  was  pale  from  weariness  and  she  flushed  with  long 
twilight  reclinings  before  her  sleepy  boudoir  fire." 

"  There  are  times  when  I  would  not  exchange  my  present 
opportunities  for  any  others  which  might  be  afforded  me. 

General dined  here  to-day,  and  what  a  vision  of  a  great 

struggle  was  raised  up  before  me  by  his  few  simple  words  in 
regard  to  Gettysburg.  I  did  not  know  which  to  admire 
most,  the  military  bearing  and  vivid  conversation  of  the 
great  soldier,  or  the  ease  and  dignity  with  which  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter met  his  remarks  and  answered  each  glowing  sentence. 

General spoke  a  few  words  to  me.     How  gentle  these 

lion-like  men  can  be  when  they  stoop  their  tall  heads  to  ad- 
dress little  children  or  young  women  !  " 

"  What  a  noble-hearted  man  Mr.  Sylvester  is !  Mr. 
Turner  in  speaking  of  him  the  other  night,  declared  there 
is  no  one  in  his  congregation  who  in  a  quiet  way  does  so 


152  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

much  for  the  poor.  <;  He  is  especially  interested  in  young 
men,"  said  he,  "and  will  leave  his  own  affairs  at  any  time 
to  aid  or  advise  them.'  I  knew  Mr.  Sylvester  was  kind, 
but  Mr.  Turner's  enthusiasm  was  uncommon.  He  evi- 
dently admires  Mr.  Sylvester  as  much  as  every  one  else 
loves  him.  And  he  is  not  alone  in  this.  Almost  every  day 
I  hear  some  remark  made  of  a  nature  complimentary  to  my 
benefactor's  character  or  ability.  Even  Mr.  Stuyvesant 
who  so  seldom  appears  to  notice  us  girls,  once  interrupted 
a  conversation  between  Cicely  and  myself  to  inquire  if  Mr. 
Sylvester  was  quite  well.  '  I  thought  he  looked  pale  to- 
day,' remarked  he,  in  his  dry  but  not  unkindly  way,  and 
then  added,  '  He  must  not  get  sick  ;  he  is  too  valuable  to 
us.'  This  was  a  great  deal  for  Mr.  Stuyvesant  to  say,  and 
it  caused  a  visible  gratification  to  Mr.  Sylvester  when  I  relat- 
ed it  to  him  in  the  evening.  '  I  had  rather  satisfy  that  man 
than  any  other  I  know,'  declared  he.  '  He  is  of  the  stern 
old-fashioned  sort,  and  it  is  an  honor  to  any  one  to  merit 
his  approval.  I  did  not  tell  him  that  I  had  also  heard 
Mr.  Stuyvesant  observe  in  a  conversation  with  some  busi- 
ness friend  of  his,  that  Edward  Sylvester  was  the  only  specu- 
lator he  knew  in  whom  he  felt  implicit  confidence.  Some- 
how it  always  gives  me  an  uncomfortable  feeling  to  hear 
Mr.  Sylvester  alluded  to  as  a  speculator.  Besides  since  he 
has  entered  the  Bank,  he  has  I  am  told,  entirely  restricted 
himself  to  what  are  called  legitimate  operations." 

"  Mr.  Sylvester  came  home  with  a  dreadful  look  on  his 


LIFE  AND   DEATH.  1 53 

face  to-day.  We  were  standing  in  the  hall  at  the  time  the 
door  opened,  and  he  went  by  us  without  a  nod,  almost  as  if 
he  did  not  see  us.  Even  Ona  was  startled  and  stood  gazing 
after  him  with  an  anxiety  such  as  I  had  never  observed 
in  her  before,  while  I  was  conscious  of  that  sick  feeling  I 
have  sometimes  experienced  when  he  came  upon  me  sud- 
denly from  his  small  room  above,  or  paused  in  the  midst  of 
the  gayest  talk,  to  ask  me  some  question  that  was  wholly 
irrelevant  and  most  frequently  sad. 

"  '  He  has  met  with  some  heavy  loss,'  murmured  his  wife, 
glancing  down  the  handsome  parlors  with  a  look  such  as 
a  mother  might  bestow  upon  the  face  of  a  sick  child.  But  I 
was  sure  she  had  not  sounded  his  trouble,  and  in  my  impetu- 
osity was  about  to  fly  to  his  side  when  we  saw  him  pause 
before  the  image  of  Luxury  that  stands  on  the  stair,  look 
at  it  for  a  moment  with  a  strange  intentness,  then  suddenly 
and  with  a  gesture  of  irrepressible  passion,  lift  his  arm  as 
if  he  would  fell  it  from  its  place.  The  action  was  so  start- 
ling, Ona  clutched  my  sleeve  in  terror,  but  he  passed  on  and 
in  another  moment  we  heard  him  shut  the  door  of  his  room. 

"  Would  he  be  down  to  dinner  ?  that  was  the  next  ques- 
tion. Ona  thought  not ;  I  did  not  dare  to  think.  Neverthe- 
less it  was  a  great  relief  to  me  when  I  saw  him  enter  the 
dining-room  with  that  set  immovable  look  he  sometimes 
wears  when  Ona  begins  one  of  her  long  and  rambling  streams 
of  fashionable  gossip.  '  It  is  nothing,'  flashed  from  his  wife's 
eyes  to  mine,  and  she  lapsed  at  once  into  her  most  graceful 
self,  but  she  nevertheless  hastened  her  meal  and  I  was  quite 


154  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES, 

prepared  to  observe  her  follow  him,  as  with  the  polite  excuse 
of  weariness,  he  left  the  table  before  desert.  I  could  not 
hear  what  she  asked  him,  but  his  answer  came  distinctly  to 
my  ears  from  the  midst  of  the  library  to  which  they  had  with- 
drawn. '  It  is  nothing  in  which  you  have  an  interest,  Ona. 
Thank  heaven  you  do  not  always  know  the  price  with  which 
the  splendors  you  so  love  are  bought.'  And  she  did  not  cry 
out,  '  O  never  pay  such  a  price  for  any  joy  of  mine  !  Sooner 
than  cost  you  so  dear  I  would  live  on  crusts  and  dwell  in  a 
garret.'  No,  she  kept  silence,  and  when  in  a  few  minutes 
later  I  joined  her  in  the  library,  it  was  to  find  on  her  usually 
placid  lips,  a  thin  cool  smile  that  struck  like  ice  to  my  heart, 
and  made  it  impossible  for  me  to  speak. 

"  But  the  hardest  trial  of  the  day  was  to  hear  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter come  in  at  eleven  o'clock — he  went  out  again  immediately 
after  dinner — and  go  up  stairs  without  giving  me  my  usual 
good-night.  It  was  such  a  grief  to  me  I  could  not  keep  still, 
but  hurried  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs  in  the  hopes  he  would 
yet  remember  me  and  come  back.  But  instead  of  that,  he 
no  sooner  saw  me  than  he  threw  out  his  hand  almost  as  if 
he  would  push  me  back,  and  hastened  on  up  the  whole  wind- 
ing flight  till  he  reached  the  refuge  of  that  mysterious  room 
of  his  at  the  top  of  the  house. 

"  I  could  not  go  back  to  Ona  after  that — she  had  been  to 
make  a  call  somewhere  with  a  young  gentleman  friend  of 
hers  ; — yes  on  this  very  night  had  been  to  make  a  call — but 
I  took  advantage  of  the  late  hour  to  retire  to  my  own  room 
where  for  a  long  time  I  lay  awake  listening  for  his  descend- 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  1 55 

ing  step  and  seeing,  as  in  a  vision,  the  startling  picture  of 
his  lifted  arm  raised  against  the  unconscious  piece  of  bronze 
on  the  stair.  Henceforth  that  statue  will  possess  for  me  a 
still  more  dreadful  .significance." 

"  It  is  the  twenty-fifth  of  February  Why  should  I  feel 
as  if  I  must  be  sure  of  the  exact  date  before  I  slept  ?  " 

The  next  extract  followed  close  on  this  and  was  the  last 
which  Miss  Belinda  read. 

"  Mr.  Sylvester  seems  to  have  recovered  from  his  late 
anxiety.  He  does  not  shrink  from  me  any  more  with  that 
half  bitter,  half  sad  expression  that  has  so  long  troubled  and 
bewildered  me,  but  draws  me  to  his  side  and  sits  listening  to 
my  talk  until  I  feel  as  if  I  were  really  of  some  comfort  to 
this  great  and  able  man.  Ona  does  not  notice  the  change  ; 
she  is  all  absorbed  in  preparing  for  the  visit  to  Washington, 
which  Mr.  Sylvester  has  promised  her." 

Miss  Belinda  calmly  folded  up  the  letters  and  locked 
them  again  in  the  little  mahogany  box,  after  which  she  cov- 
ered up  the  embers  and  quietly  went  to  bed.  But  next 
morning  a  letter  was  despatched  to  Mr.  Sylvester  which  ran 
thus : 

"  DEAR  MR.  SYLVESTER  : 

"  For  the  present  at  least  you  may  keep  Paula  with  you. 
But  I  am  not  ready  to  say  that  I  think  it  would  be  for  her 
best  good  to  be  received  and  acknowledged  as  your  daughter 


I5  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

— yet.     Hoping  you  will  appreciate  the  motives  that  actuate 
this  decision, 

"  I  remain,  respectfully  yours, 

"BELINDA  ANN  WALTON." 


XV. 


AN  ADVENTURE — OR  SOMETHING  MORE. 

"  Bliss  was  it  in  that  dawn  to  be  alive, 
But  to  be  young  was  very  heaven."        — WORDSWORTH. 

Oph. — What  means  this,  my  lord  ? 

Ham.-JAa.rry,  this  is  the  miching  mallecho  ;  it  means  mischief." 

—HAMLET. 

A  RIDE  in  the  Central  Park  is  an  every-day  matter  to 
most  people.  It  signifies  an  indolent  bowling  over  a  smooth 
road  all  alive  with  the  glitter  of  passing  equipages,  waving 
ribbons  and  fluttering  plumes,  and  brightened  now  and  then 
by  the  sight  of  a  well  known  face  amid  the  general  rush  of 
old  and  young,  plain  and  handsome,  sad  and  gay  counte- 
nances that  flash  by  you  in  one  long  and  brilliant  proces- 
sion. 

But  to  Paula  and  her  friend  Miss  Stuyvesant  starting  out 
in  the  early  freshness  of  a  fair  April  morning,  it  meant  new 
life,  reawakening  joy,  the  sparkle  of  young  leaves  just  loosed 
from  the  bonds  of  winter,  the  sweetness  and  promise  of 
spring  airs,  and  all  the  budding  glory  of  a  new  year  with  its 
summer  of  countless  roses  and  its  autumn  of  incalculable 
glories.  Not  the  twitter  of  a  bird  was  lost  to  them,  not  the 
smile  of  an  opening  flower,  not  the  welcome  of  a  waving 
branch.  Youth,  joy,  and  innocence  lived  in  their  hearts  and 


158  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

showed  them  nothing  in  the  mirror  of  nature  that  was  not 
equally  young,  joyous  and  innocent.  Then  they  were  alone, 
or  sufficiently  so.  The  stray  wanderers  whom  they  met  sit- 
ting under  the  flowering  trees,  were  equally  with  themselves 
lovers  of  nature  or  they  would  not  be  seated  in  converse 
with  it  at  this  early  hour  ;  while  the  laugh  of  little  children 
startled  from  their  play  by  the  prance  of  their  high-stepping 
horses,  was  only  another  expression  of  the  sweet  but  unex- 
pressed delight  that  breathed  in  all  the  radiant  atmosphere. 

"We  are  two  birds  who  have  escaped  thralldom  and  are 
taking  our  first  flight  into  our  natural  ether,"  cried  Miss 
Stuyvesant  gaily. 

"  We  are  two  pioneers  lit  by  the  spirit  of  adventure,  who 
have  left  the  cosy  hearth  of  wintry-fires  to  explore  the  do- 
mains of  the  frost  king,  and  lo,  we  have  come  upon  a  Para- 
dise of  bloom  and  color !  "  responded  the  ringing  voice  of 
Paula. 

"  I  feel  as  if  I  could  mount  that  little  white  cloud  we  see 
over  there,"  continued  Cicely  with  a  quick  lively  wave  of  her 
whip.  "  I  wonder  how  Dandy  would  enjoy  an  empyrean 
journey  ?  " 

"  From  the  haughty  bend  of  his  neck  I  should  say  he 
was  quite  satisfied  with  his  present  condition  But  perhaps 
his  chief  pride  is  due  to  the  mistress  he  carries." 

"Are  you  attempting  to  vie  with  Mr.  Williams,  Paula?  " 

Mr.  Williams  was  the  meek-eyed,  fair  complexioned  gen- 
tleman, whose  predilection  for  compliment  was  just  then  a 
subject  of  talk  in  fashionable  circles. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  159 

"  Only  so  far  as  my  admiration  goes  of  the  most  charm- 
ing lady  I  see  this  morning.  But  who  is  this  ?  " 

Miss  Stuyvesant  looked  up.  "  Ah,  that  is  some  one  with 
whom  there  is  very  little  danger  of  your  falling  in  love." 

Paula  blushed.  The  gentleman  approaching  them  upon 
horseback  was  conspicuous  for  long  side  whiskers  of  a  de- 
cidedly auburn  tinge. 

"  His  name  is — "  But  she  had  not  time  to  finish,  for  the 
gentleman  with  a  glance  of  astonished  delight  at  Paula, 
bowed  to  the  speaker  with  a  liveliness  and  grace  that  de- 
manded some  recognition. 

Instantly  he  drew  rein.  "  Do  I  behold  Miss  Stuyvesant 
among  the  nymphs  !  "  cried  he,  in  those  ringing  pleasant 
tones  that  at  once  predispose  you  towards  their  possessor. 

"  If  you  allude  to  my  friend  Miss  Fairchild,  you  cer- 
tainly do,  Mr.  Ensign,"  the  wicked  little  lady  rejoined  with 
a  waiving  of  her  usual  ceremony  that  astonished  Paula. 

Mr.  Ensign  bestowed  upon  them  his  most  courtly  bow,  but 
the  flush  that  mounted  to  his  brow — making  his  face  one  red, 
as  certain  of  his  friends  were  malicious  enough  to  observe 
on  similar  occasions — indicated  that  he  had  been  taken  a  lit- 
tle more  at  his  word  than  perhaps  suited  even  one  of  his  easy 
and  proverbially  careless  temperament.  "'  Miss  Fairchild  will 
understand  that  I  am  not  a  Harvey  Williams — at  least  before 
an  introduction,"  said  he  with  something  like  seriousness. 

But  at  this  allusion  to  the  gentleman  whose  name  had 
been  upon  their  lips  but  a  moment  before,  both  ladies 
laughed  outright. 


l6o  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  I  have  just  been  accused  of  attempting  the  role  of  that 
gentleman  myself,"  exclaimed  Paula.  "  If  the  fresh  morning 
air  will  persist  in  painting  such  roses  on  ladies'  cheeks,"  con- 
tinued she,  with  a  loving  look  at  her  pretty  companion 
"  what  can  one  be  expected  to  do  ? " 

"Admire,"  quoth  the  red  bannered  cavalier  with  a  glance, 
however,  at  the  beautiful  speaker  instead  of  the  demure  little 
Cicely  at  her  side. 

Miss  Stuyvesant  perceived  this  look  and  a  curious  smile 
disturbed  the  corners  of  her  rosy  lips.  "  What  a  fortunate 
man  to  be  able  to  do  the  right  thing  at  the  right  time," 
laughed  she,  gaily  touching  up  her  horse  that  was  beginning 
to  show  symptoms  of  restlessness. 

"If  Miss  Stuyvesant  will  put  that  in  the  future  tense  and 
then  assure  us  she  has  been  among  the  prophets,  I  should 
be  singularly  obliged,"  said  he  with  a  touch  of  his  hat  and  a 
smiling  look  at  Paula  that  was  at  once  manly  and  gentle, 
careless  and  yet  respectful. 

"  Ah,  life  is  too  bright  for  prophesies  this  morning.  The 
moment  is  enough." 

"  Is  it  Miss  Fairchild  ?  "  queried  Mr.  Ensign  looking 
back  over  his  shoulder. 

She  turned  just  a  bit  of  her  cheek  towards  him.     "  What 
•  Miss  Stuyvesant  declares  to  be  true,  that  am  I  bound  to 
believe,"  said  she,  and  with  the  least  little  ripple  of  a  laugh, 
rode  on. 

"  It  is  a  pity  you  have  such  a  dislike  for  whiskers,"  Cicely 
presently  remarked  with  an  air  of  great  gravity. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  l6l 

Paula  gave  a  start  and  cast  a  glance  of  reproach  at 
her  companion.  "  I  did  not  notice  his  whiskers  after  the  first 
word  or  two,"  said  she,  fixing  her  eyes  on  a  turn  of  the  road 
before  them.  "  Such  cheerfulness  is  infectious.  I  was  merry 
before,  but  now  I  feel  as  if  I  had  been  bathed  in  sunshine." 

Cicely's  eyes  flashed  wide  with  surprise  and  her  face 
grew  serious  in  earnest.  "  Mr.  Ensign  is  a  delightful  com- 
panion," observed  she;  "a  room  is  always  brighter  for  his 
entrance  ;  and  with  all  that,  he  is  the  only  young  man  I  know, 
who  having  come  into  a  large  fortune,  feels  any  of  the  re- 
sponsibilities of  his  position.  The  sunshine  is  the  result  of 
a  good  heart  and  pure  living,  and  that  is  what  makes  it  in- 
fectious, I  suppose." 

"  Let  us  canter,"  said  Paula.  And  so  the  glad  young 
things  swept  on,  life  breaking  in  bubbles  around  them  and 
rippling  away  into  unfathomable  wells  of  feeling  in  one  of 
their  pure  hearts  at  least.  Suddenly  a  hand  seemed  to 
swoop  from  heaven  and  dash  them  both  back  in  dismay. 
They  had  reached  one  of  those  places  where  the  foot  path 
crosses  the  equestrian  and  they  had  run  over  and  thrown 
down  a  little  child. 

"  O  heaven  !  "  cried  Paula  leaping  from  her  horse,  "  I 
had  rather  been  killed  myself."  The  groom  rode  up  and 
she  bent  anxiously  over  the  child. 

It  was  a  boy  of  some  seven  or  eight  years,  whose  mis- 
fortune— he  was  lame,  as  the  little  crutch  fallen  at  his  side 
sufficiently  denoted — made  appear  much  younger.  He  had 
been  struck  on  his  arm  and  was  moaning  with  pain,  but  did 


1 62  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

not  seem  to  be  otherwise  hurt.  "Are  you  alone?"  cried 
Paula,  lifting  his  head  on  her  arm  and  glancing  hurriedly 
about. 

The  little  fellow  raised  his  heavy  lids  and  for  a  moment 
stared  into  her  face  with  eyes  so  deeply  blue  and  beautiful 
they  almost  startled  her,  then  with  an  effort  pointed  down 
the  path,  saying, 

"  Dad's  over  there  in  the  long  tunnel  talking  to  some 
one.  Tell  him  I  got  hurt.  I  want  Dad." 

She  gently  lifted  him  to  his  feet  and  led  him  out  of  the 
road  into  the  apparently  deserted  path  where  she  made  him 
sit  down.  "  I  am  going  to  find  his  father,"  said  Paula  to 
Cicely,  "  I  will  be  back  in  a  moment." 

"  But  wait ;  you  shall  not  go  alone,"  authoritatively  ex- 
claimed that  little  damsel,  leaping  in  her  turn  to  the  ground. 
"  Where  does  he  say  his  father  is  ?  " 

"  In  the  tunnel,  by  which  I  suppose  he  means  that  long 
passage  under  the  bridge  over  there." 

Holding  up  the  skirts  of  their  riding-habits  in  their 
trembling  right  hands,  they  hurried  forward.  Suddenly 
they  both  paused.  A  woman  had  crossed  their  path  ;  a 
•woman  whom  to  look  at  but  once  was  to  remember  with 
ghastly  shrinking  for  a  life-time.  She  was  wrapped  in  a 
long  and  ragged  cloak,  and  her  eyes,  startling  in  their  black- 
ness, were  fixed  upon  the  pain-drawn  countenance  of  the 
poor  little  hurt  boy  behind  them,  with  a  gleam  whose 
feverish  hatred  and  deep  malignant  enjoyment  of  his  very 
evident  sufferings,  was  like  a  revelation  from  the  lowest  pit 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  163 

.to  the  two  innocent-minded  girls  hastening  forward  on  their 
errand  of  mercy. 

"  Is  he  much  hurt  ?  "  gasped  the  woman  in  an  ineffectual 
effort  to  conceal  the  evil  nature  of  her  interest.  "  Do  you  think 
he  will  die  ?  "  with  a  shrill  lingering  emphasis  on  the  last  word 
as  if  she  longed  to  roll  it  like  a  sweet  morsel  under  her  tongue. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  asked  Cicely,  shrinking  to  one  side  with 
dilated  eyes  fixed  on  the  woman's  hardened  countenance  and 
the  white,  too  white  hand  with  which  she  had  pointed  as  she 
spoke  of  the  child. 

"  Are  you  his  mother  ?  "  queried  Paula,  paling  at  the 
thought  but  keeping  her  ground  with  an  air  of  unconscious 
authority. 

"  His  mother  !  "  shrieked  the  woman,  hugging  herself  in 
her  long  cloak  and  laughing  with  fiendish  sarcasm.'  "  I  look 
like  his  mother,  don't  I?  His  eyes — did  you  notice  his  eyes  ? 
they  are  just  like  mine,  aren't  they  ?  and  his  body,  poor 
weazen  little  thing,  looks  as  if  it  had  drawn  sustenance  from 
mine,  dont  it  ?  His  mother  !  O  heaven  !  " 

Nothing  like  the  suppressed  force  of  this  invocation 
seething  as  it  was  with  the  worst  passions  of  a  depraved  hu- 
man nature,  had  ever  startled  those  ears  before.  Clasping 
Cicely  by  the  hand,  she  called  out  to  the  groom  behind  them, 
"  Guard  that  child  as  you  would  your  life  !  "  and  then  flash- 
ing upon  the  wretched  creature  before  her  with  all  the  force, 
of  her  aroused  nature,  she  exclaimed,  "  If  you  are  not  his 
mother,  move  aside  and  let  us  pass,  we  are  in  search  of  as- 
sistance." 


164  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

For  an  instant  the  woman  stood  awe-struck  before  tliis> 
vision  of  maidenly  beauty  and  indignation,  then  she  laughed 
and  cried  out  with  shrill  emphasis  : 

"  When  next  you  look  like  that,  go  to  your  mirror,  and 
when  you  see  the  image  it  reflects,  say  to  yourself,  '  So  once 
looked  the  woman  who  defied  me  in  the  Park  ! '  ' 

With  a  quick  shudder  and  a  feeling  as  if  the  noisome 
cloak  of  this  degraded  being  had  somehow  been  dropped 
upon  her  own  fair  and  spotless  shoulders,  Paula  clasped  the 
hand  of  Cicely  more  tightly  in  her  own,  and  rushed  with  her 
down  the  steps  that  led  into  the  underground  passage 
towards  which  they  had  been  directed. 

There  were  but  two  persons  in  it  when  they  entered.  A 
short  thickset  man  and  another  man  of  a  slighter  and  more 
gentlemanly  build.  They  were  engaged  in  talking,  and  the 
latter  was  bringing  down  his  right  hand  upon  the  palm  of 
his  left  with  a  gesture  almost  foreign  in  its  expressive  energy. 

"  I  tell  you,"  declared  he,  with  a  voice  that  while  low,  re- 
verberated through  the  hollow  vault  above  him  with  strange 
intensity,  "  I  tell  you  I've  got  my  grip  on  a  certain  rich 
man  in  this  city,  and  if  you  will  only  wait,  you  shall  see 
strange  things.  I  dont  know  his  name  and  I  dont  know  his 
face,  but  I  do  know  what  he  has  done,  and  a  thousand  dollars 
down  couldn't  buy  the  knowledge  of  me." 

"  But  if  you  dont  know  his  name  and  dont  know  his  face, 
how  in  the  name  of  all  that's  mischievous  are  you  going  to 
know  your  man  ?  " 

"  Leave  that  to  me  !     If  I  once  meet  him  and  hear  him 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  1 65 

talk,  one  more  rich  man  goes  down  and  one  more  poor  devil 
goes  up,  or  I've  not  the  wit  that  starvation  usually  teaches." 

The  nature  of  these  sentences  together  with  the  various 
manifestations  of  interest  with  which  they  were  received, 
had  for  a  moment  deterred  the  two  girls  in  their  hurried  ad- 
vance, but  now  they  put  away  every  thought  save  that  of  the 
poor  little  creature  awaiting  his  Dad,  and  lifting  up  her 
voice,  Paula  said, 

"  Are  either  of  you  the  father  of  a  little  lame  lad — " 

Instantly  and  before  she  could  conclude,  the  taller  of  the 
two,  who  had  also  been  the  chief  speaker  in  the  above  con- 
versation, turned,  and  she  saw  his  hand  begrimed  though  it 
was  with  dirt  and  dark  with  many  a  disgraceful  trick,  go  to 
his  heart  in  a  gesture  too  natural  to  be  anything  but  invol- 
untary. 

"  Is  he  hurt  ?  "  gasped  he,  but  in  how  different  a  tone 
from  that  of  the  woman  who  had  used  the  same  words  a  few 
minutes  before.  Then  seeing  that  the  persons  who  ad- 
dressed him  were  ladies  and  one  of  them  at  least  a  very 
beautiful  one,  took  off  his  hat  with  an  easy  action,  that  to- 
gether with  what  they  had  heard,  proved  him  to  be  one  of 
that  most  dangerous  class  among  us,  a  gentleman  who  has 
gone  thoroughly  and  irretrievably  to  the  bad. 

"  I  am  afraid  he  is,  sir,"  said  Paula.  "  He  was  attempt- 
ing to  cross  the  road,  and  a  horse  advancing  hurriedly,  struck 
him."  She  had  not  courage  to  say  her  horse  in  face  of  the 
white  and  trembling  dismay  that  seized  him  at  these  words. 

"Where  is  he?"  cried  he.     "Where's  my  poor  boy?" 


l66  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

And  he  bounded  up  the  steps,  his  hat  still  in  his  hand,  his 
long  unkempt  locks  flying,  and  his  whole  form  expressive  of 
the  utmost  alarm. 

"  Down  by  the  carriage  road,"  called  out  Paula,  finding  it 
impossible  for  them  to  keep  up  with  such  haste. 

"  But  is  he  much  injured  ?  "  cried  a  smooth  voice  at  their 
side. 

They  turned ;  it  was  the  short  thickset  man  who  had 
been  the  other's-  companion  in  the  conversation  above  re- 
corded. 

"  We  trust  not,"  answered  Cicely  ;  "  his  arm  received  the 
blow,  and  he  suffers  very  much,  but  we  hope  it  is  not  seri- 
ous ;  "  and  they  hurried  on. 

They  found  the  father  seated  on  the  grass  holding  the 
little  fellow  in  his  arms.  The  look  on  his  once  handsome 
but  now  thoroughly  corrupt  and  dissipated  face,  made  their 
hearts  melt  within  them.  However  wicked  he  might  be — and 
that  sly  treacherous  eye,  that  false  impudent  lip,  that  settling 
of  the  whole  face  into  the  mould  which  Vice  applies  to  all  her 
votaries,  left  no  doubt  of  his  complete  depravity — he  dearly 
loved  his  child,  and  love,  no  matter  how  it  is  expressed,  or 
in  what  garb  it  appears,  is  a  sacred  and  beautiful  thing,  and 
ennobles  for  the  time  being  any  creature  who  displays  it. 

'  'Twas  a  hard  knock  up,  Dad,"  came  from  the  white 
lips  of  the  child  as  he  felt  his  father's  trembling  hand  feel 
up  and  down  his  arm,  "  but  I  guess  the  '  little  fellar  '  can 
stand  it."  "  Little  feller  "  was  evidently  the  name  by  which 
his  father  was  accustomed  to  address  him. 


LIFE  AHD  DEATH.  1 67 

"  There  are  no  bones  broken,"  said  the  father.  "  To  be 
lame  and  maimed  too  would  be — " 

He  did  not  finish,  for  a  delicately  gloved  hand  was  here 
laid  on  his  sleeve,  and  a  gentle  voice  whispered,  "  Money 
cannot  pay  for  an  injury  like  that,  but  please  accept  this;" 
and  Paula  thrust  a  purse  into  his  hand. 

He  clutched  it  eagerly,  but  at  her  next  request  that  he 
should  tell  her  where  he  lived  that  they  might  inquire  after 
the  boy,  he  shook  his  head  with  a  return  of  his  old  em- 
phasis. 

"  The  haunts  of  bats  and  jackals  are  not  for  ladies." 
Then  as  he  caught  sight  of  her  pitiful  face  bending  in  fare- 
well over  the  little  urchin,  some  remembrance  perhaps  of  the 
days  when  he  had  a  right  to  stoop  to  the  ear  of  beautiful 
women  and  walk  unrebuked  at  their  side,  returned  to  him 
from  the  past,  and  respectfully  lowering  his  voice,  he  asked 
her  name. 

She  gave  it  and  he  seemed  to  lay  it  away  in  his  mind  ; 
then  as  the  ladies  turned  to  remount  their  horses,  rose  and 
began  carrying  the  little  fellow  off.  As  he  vanished  in  the 
turn  of  the  path  that  led  towards  the  main  entrance,  they 
perceived  a  tall  dark  figure  arise  from  a  seat  in  the  distance 
and  stand  looking  after  him,  with  a  leer  on  its  face  and  a 
malicious  hugging  of  itself  in  a  long  black  cloak,  that  pro- 
claimed her  to  be  the  same  ominous  being  who  had  before 
so  grievously  startled  them. 


XVI. 

THE    SWORD    OF    DAMOCLES. 

"  And  my  imaginations  are  as  foul 
As  Vulcan's  smithy."  — HAMLET. 

"  Why,  all  the  souls  that  were,  were  forfeit  once  ; 
And  He  that  might  the  vantage  best  have  took 
Found  out  the  remedy.'' 

— MEASURE  FOR  MEASURE. 

MRS.  SYLVESTER  reclining  on  the  palest  of  blue  couches, 
in  the  slanting  sunlight  of  an  April  afternoon,  is  a  study  for 
a  painter.  Not  that  such  inspiring  loveliness  breathed  from 
her  person,  conspicuous  as  it  was  for  its  rich  and  indolent 
grace,  but  because  in  every  attitude  of  her  large  and  well 
formed  limbs,  in  every  raise  of  the  thick  white  lids  from  eyes 
whose  natural  brightness  was  obscured  by  the  mist  of  aim- 
less fancies,  she  presented  such  an  embodiment  of  luxurious 
ease,  one  might  almost  imagine  they  were  gazing  upon  the 
favorite  Sultana  of  some  eastern  court,  or,  to  be  for  once 
poetical  as  the  subject  demands,  a  full  blown  Egyptian  lotos 
floating  in  hushed  enjoyment  on  the  placid  waters  of  its  na- 
tive stream.  Indeed  for  all  the  blonde  character  of  her 
beauty,  there  was  certainly  something  oriental  about  the 
physique  of  this  favored  child  of  fortune.  Had  the  tint  of 
her  skin  been  richened  to  a  magnolia  bloom  instead  of  re- 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  169 

minding  you  of  that  description  accorded  to  the  complexion 
of  one  of  Napoleon's  sisters,  that  it  looked  like  white  satin 
seen  through  pink  glass,  she  would  have  passed  in  any  Eas- 
tern market,  for  a  rare  specimen  of  Circassian  beauty. 

But  Mr.  Sylvester  coming  home  fatigued  and  harassed, 
cared  little  for  Circassian  beauties  or  Oriental  odalisques. 
It  was  a  welcome  that  he  desired,  and  such  refreshment  as  a 
quick  eye  and  ready  hand  can  bestow  when  guided  by  a 
tender  and  loving  heart ;  or  so  thought  the  watchful  Paula 
as  she  glided  from  her  room  at  the  sound  of  his  step  in  the 
hall,  and  met  him  coming  weary  and  disheartened  from  the 
side  of  Ona's  couch.  The  sight  of  her  revived  him  at  once. 

"  Well,  little  one,  what  have  you  been  doing  to-day  ?  " 

Instantly  a  shade  fell  over  her  countenance.  "  I  hardly 
know  how  to  tell  you.  It  has  been  a  day  of  great  experiences 
to  me.  I  am  literally  shaken  with  them.  I  have  been  want- 
ing to  talk  to  Ona  about  what  I  have  seen  and  heard,  but 
thought  I  had  best  wait  till  you  came  home,  for  I  could  not 
repeat  the  story  twice." 

"  What !  you  look  pale.  Nothing  has  happened  to 
frighten  you  I  hope,"  exclaimed  he,  leading  her  back  to  Ona's 
side,  who  stirred  a  little,  and  presently  deigned  to  take  an 
upright  position. 

"  I  do  not  know  if  it  is  fear  or  horror,"  cried  Paula,  shud- 
dering ;  "I  have  seen  a  fearful  woman — But  first  I  ought  to 
tell  you  that  I  took  a  ride  with  Miss-Stuyvesant  in  the  Park 
this  morning — " 

"  Yes,  and  persisted  in  going  for  that  lady  on  horseback 


I/O  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

instead  of  sending  the  groom  after  her,  and  all  starting  from 
the  front  of  our  house,"  murmured  Mrs.  Sylvester  with  lazy 
chagrin. 

Paula  smiled,  but  otherwise  took  no  notice  of  this  stand- 
ing topic  of  disagreement. 

"  It  was  a  beautiful  day,"  she  proceeded,  "  and  we  en- 
joyed it  very  much,  but  we  were  so  unfortunate  as  to  run 
over  a  little  boy,  at  that  place  where  the  equestrian  road 
crosses  the  foot  path ;  a  lame  child,  Mr.  Sylvester,  who 
could  not  get  out  of  our  way  ;  poor  too,  with  a  ragged  jacket 
on  which  seemed  to  make  it  all  the  worse." 

Ona  gave  a  shrug  with  her  white  shoulders,  that  seemed 
to  question  this.  "  Did  you  injure  him  very  much  ?  " 
queried  she,  with  a  show  of  interest  ;  not  sufficient  how- 
ever to  impair  her  curiosity  as  to  the  cut  of  one  of  her  nails. 

"  I  cannot  say  ;  his  little  arm  was  struck,  and  when  I 
went  to  pick  him  up,  he  lay  back  in  my  lap  and  moaned  till 
I  thought  my  heart  would  break.  But  that  was  not  the 
worst  that  happened.  As  we  went  hurrying  up  the  walk 
to  find  the  child's  father,  we  were  met  by  a  woman  wrapped 
in  a  black  cloak  whose  long  and  greasy  folds  seemed  like 
the  symbol  of  her  own  untold  depravity.  Her  glance  as 
she  encountered  the  child  writhing  in  pain  at  my  feet,  made 
my  heart  stand  still.  It  was  more  than  malignant,  it  was 
actually  fiendish.  '  Is  he  hurt  ?  '  she  asked,  and  it  seemed 
as  if  she  gloated  over  the  question  ;  she  evidently  longed 
to  hear  that  he  was,  longed  to  be  told  that  he  would  die  ; 
and  when  I  inquired  if  she  was  his  mother,  she  broke  into 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  17 1 

a  string  of  laughter,  that  seemed  to  darken  the  daylight. 
'  His  mother  !  O  yes,  we  look  alike,  don't  we  ! '  she  ex- 
claimed, pointing  with  a  mocking  gesture  frightful  to  see, 
first  at  his  eyes  which  were  very  blue  and  beautiful,  and  then 
at  her  own  which  were  dark  as  evil  thoughts  could  make 
them.  I  never  saw  anything  so  dreadful.  Malignancy  ! 
and  towards  a  little  lame  child  !  what  could  be  more  hor- 
rible !  " 

Mr.  Sylvester  and  his  wife  exchanged  looks,  then  the 
former  asked,  "  Did  she  follow  you,  Paula  ?  " 

"No  ;  after  telling  me  that  I — But  I  cannot  repeat  what 
she  said,"  exclaimed  the  young  girl  with  a  quick  shudder. 
"  Since  I  came  home,"  she  musingly  continued,  "  I  have 
looked  and  looked  at  my  face  in  the  glass,  but  I  cannot  be- 
lieve that  what  she  declared  is  true.  There  is  no  similarity 
between  us,  could  never  have  been  any  :  I  will  not  have  it 
that  she  ever  saw  in  all  the  days  of  her  life  such  a  picture  as 
that  in  her  glass."  And  with  a  sudden  gesture  Paula  started 
up  and  pointed  to  herself  as  she  stood  reflected  in  one  of 
the  tall  mirrors  with  which  Ona's  boudoir  abounded. 

"  And  did  she  dare  to  make  any  comparison  between 
you  and  her  own  degraded  self?  "  exclaimed  Mr.  Sylvester, 
with  a  glance  at  the  exquisite  vision  of  pure  girlhood  thus 
doubly  presented  to  his  notice. 

"  Yes,  what  I  am,  she  was  once,  or  so  she  said.  And  it 
may  be  true.  I  have  never  suffered  sorrow  or  experienced 
wrong,  and  cannot  measure  their  power  to  carve  the  human 
face  with  such  lines  as  I  beheld  on  that  woman's  counte- 


1/2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

nance  to-day.  But  do  not  let  us  talk  of  her  any  more.  She 
left  us  at  last,  and  we  found  the  child's  father.  Mr.  Sylvester," 
she  suddenly  asked,  "  are  there  to  be  found  in  this  city,  men 
occupying  honorable  positions  and  as  such  highly  esteemed, 
who  like  Damocles  of  old,  may  be  said  to  sit  under  the  con- 
stant terror  of  a  falling  sword  in  the  shape  of  some  possible 
disclosure,  that  if  made,  would  ruin  their  position  before  the 
world  forever  ?  " 

Mr.  Sylvester  started  as  if  he  had  been  shot.  "  Paula  !  " 
cried  he,  and  instantly  was  silent  again.  He  did  not  look 
at  his  wife,  but  if  he  had,  he  would  have  perceived  that  even 
her  fair  skin  was  capable  of  blanching  to  a  yet  more  start- 
ling whiteness,  and  that  her  sleepy  eyes  could  flash  open  with 
something  like  expression  in  their  lazy  depths. 

"  I  mean,"  dreamily  continued  Paula,  absorbed  in  her 
own  remembrance,  "  that  if  what  we  overheard  said  by  the 
father  of  that  child  to-day  is  true,  some  one  of  our  promi- 
nent men,  whose  life  is  not  all  it  appears,  is  standing  on  the 
verge  of  possible  exposure  and  shame  ;  that  a  hound  is  on 
his  track  in  the  form  of  a  starving  man  ;  and  that  sooner  or 
later  he  will  have  to  pay  the  price  of  an  unprincipled  crea- 
ture's silence,  or  fall  into  public  discredit  like  some  others  of 
whom  we  have  lately  read."  Then  as  silence  filled  the 
room,  she  added,  "  It  makes  me  tremble  to  think  that  a  man 
of  means  and  seeming  honor  should  be  placed  in  such  a 
position,  but  worse  still  that  we  may  know  such  a  one  and 
be  ignorant  of  his  misery  and  his  shame." 

"  It  is  getting  time  for  me  to  dress,"  murmured  Ona,  sink- 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  173 

ing  back  on  her  pillow  and  speaking  in  her  most  languid 
tone  of  voice.  "  Could  you  not  hasten  your  story  a  little 
Paula  ?  " 

But  Mr.  Sylvester  with  a  hurried  glance  at  the  closing 
eyes  of  his  wife,  requested  on  the  contrary  that  she  would 
explain  herself  more  definitely.  "  Ona  will  pardon  the 
delay,"  said  he,  with  a  set,  strained  politeness  that  called  up 
the  least  little  quiver  of  suppressed  sarcasm  about  the  rosy 
infantile  lips  that  he  evidently  did  not  consider  it  worth  his 
while  to  notice. 

"  But  that  is  all,"  said  Paula.  However  she  repeated  as 
nearly  as  she  could  just  what  the  boy's  father  had  said.  At 
the  conclusion  Mr.  Sylvester  rose. 

"  What  kind  of  a  looking  man  was  he  ?  "  said  that  gen- 
tleman as  he  crossed  to  the  window. 

"  Well,  as  nearly  as  I  can  describe,  he  was  tall,  dark  and 
seedy,  with  a  shock  of  black  hair  and  a  pair  of  black  whis- 
kers that  floated  on  the  wind  as  he  walked.  He  was  evi- 
dently of  the  order  of  decayed  gentleman,  and  his  manner  of 
talking,  especially  in  the  profuse  use  he  made  of  his  arms 
and  hands,  was  decidedly  foreign.  Yet  his  speech  was  pure 
and  without  accent." 

Mr.  Sylvester's  face  as  he  asked  the  next  question  was 
comparatively  cheerful.  "  Was  the  other  man  with  whom 
he  was  talking,  as  dark  and  foreign  as  himself  ?  "v 

"  O  no,  he  was  round  and  jovial,  a  little  too  insinuating 
perhaps,  in  his  way  of  speaking  to  ladies,  but  otherwise  a 
a  well  enough  appearing  man." 


1/4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Mr.  Sylvester  bowed  and  looked  at  his  watch.  (Why  do 
gentlemen  always  consult  their  watches  even  in  the  face  of 
the  clock?)  "Ona,  you  are  right,"  said  he,  "it  is  time  you 
were  dressing  for  dinner."  And  concluding  with  a  word  or 
two  of  sympathy  as  to  the  peculiar  nature  of  Paula's  adven- 
tures as  he  called  them,  he  hastened  from  the  room  and  pro- 
ceeded to  his  little  refuge  above. 

"He  has  not  asked  me  what  became  of  the  child," 
thought  Paula,  with  a  certain  pang  of  surprise.  "  I  expected 
him  to  say,  '  Shall  we  not  try  and  see  the  little  fellow, 
Paula  ?  '  if  only  to  allow  me  to  explain  that  the  child's  father 
would  not  tell  me  where  they  lived.  But  the  later  affair  has 
evidently  put  the  child  out  of  his  head.  And  indeed  it  is 
only  natural  that  a  business  man  should  be  more  interested 
in  such  a  fact  as  I  have  related,  than  in  the  sprained  arm  of  a 
wretched  creature's  '  little  feller.'  "  And  she  turned  to  assist 
Ona,  who  had  arisen  from  her  couch  and  was  now  absorbed 
in  the  intricacies  of  an  uncommonly  elaborate  toilet. 

"  Those  men  did  not  mention  any  names  ?  "  suddenly 
queried  that  lady,   looking  with   an   expression   of  careful 
anxiety,  at  the  twist  of  her  back  hair,  in  the  small  hand-mir 
ror  she  held  over  her  shoulder. 

"  No,"  said  Paula,  dropping  a  red  rose  into  the  blonde 
locks  she  was  so  carefully  arranging.  "  He  expressly  said 
he  did  not  know  the  name  of  the  person  to  whom  he  alluded. 
It  was  a  strange  conversation  for  me  to  overhear,  was  it 
not  ?  "  she  remarked,  happy  to  have  interested  her  cousin  in 
anything  out  of  the  domains  of  fashion. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  .         1 75 

"  I  don't  know — certainly — of  course — "  returned  Mrs. 
Sylvester  with  some  incoherence.  "  Do  you  think  red  looks 
as  well  with  this  black  as  the  lavender  would  do  ? "  she  ram- 
bled on  in  her  lightest  tone,  pulling  out  a  box  of  feathers. 

Paula  gave  her  a  little  wistful  glance  of  disappointment 
and  decided  in  favor  of  the  lavender. 

"  I  am  bound  to  look  well  to-night  if  I  never  do  so  again," 
eaid  Ona.  They  were  all  going  to  a  public  reception  at 
at  which  a  foreign  lord  was  expected  to  be  present,  "  How 
fortunate  I  am  to  have  a  perfect  little  hairdresser  in  my  own 
family,  without  being  obliged  to  send  for  some  gossipy,  fussy 
old  Madame  with  her  stories  of  how  such  and  such  a  one 
looked  when  dressed  for  the  Grand  Duke's  ball,  or  how  Mrs. 
So  and  So  always  gave  her  more  than  her  price  because  she 
rolled  up  puffs  so  exquisitely."  And  stopping  to  aid  the 
deft  girl  in  substituting  the  lavender  feather  for  the  red  rose 
in  her  hair — she  forgot  to  ask  any  more  questions. 

"Ona,"  remarked  her  husband,  coming  into  the  room  on 
his  way  down  to  dinner — Mrs.  Sylvester  never  dined  when 
she  was  going  to  any  grand  entertainment  ;  it  made  her  look 
flushed  she  said — u  I  am  not  in  the  habit  of  troubling  you 
about  your  family  matters,  but  have  you  heard  from  your 
father  of  late  ?  " 

Mrs.  Sylvester  turned  from  her  jewel-casket  and  calmly 
surveyed  his  face.  It  was  fixed  and  formal,  the  face  he 
turned  to  his  servants  and  sometimes — to  his  wife.  "  No," 
said  she,  with  a  light  little  gesture  as  though  she  were  speak- 


176  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

ing  of  the  most  trivial  matter.  "  In  one  respect  at  least, 
papa  is  like  an  angel,  his  visits  are  few  and  far  between." 

Mr.  Sylvester's  eye-brows  drew  heavily  together.  For 
a  man  with  a  smile  of  strange  sweetness,  he  could  some- 
times look  very  forbidding.  "  When  was  he  here  last?" 
he  inquired  in  a  tone  more  commanding  than  he  knew. 

She  did  not  appear  to  resent  it.  "  Let  me  see,"  mused 
she.  "  When  was  it  I  lost  my  diamond  ear-ring  ?  O  I  re- 
member, it  was  on  the  eve  of  New  Year's  day  a  year  ago  ; 
I  recollect  because  I  had  to  wear  pearls  with  my  garnet 
brocade,"  she  pettishly  sighed.  u  And  papa  came  the  next 
week,  after  you  had  given  me  the  money  for  a  new  pair. 
I  have  reason  to  remember  that,  for  not  a  dollar  did  he  leave 
me." 

"  Ona  !  "  exclaimed  her  husband,  shrinking  back  in  un- 
controllable surprise,  while  his  eyes  flashed  inquiringly  to  her 
ears  in  which  two  noble  diamonds  were  brilliantly  shining. 

"  O,"  she  cried,  just  raising  one  snowy  hand  to  those 
sparkling  ornaments,  while  a  faint  blush,  the  existence  of 
which  he  had  sometimes  doubted,  swept  over  her  careless 
face.  "  I  was  enabled  to  procure  them  in  time ;  but  for  a 
whole  two  months  I  had  to  go  without  diamonds."  She  did 
not  say  that  she  had  bartered  her  wedding  jewels  to  make 
up  the  sum  she  needed,  but  he  may  have  understood  that 
without  being  told. 

"  And  that  is  the  last  time  you  have  seen  him  ?  "  He 
held  her  eyes  with  his,  she  could  not  look  away. 

"  The  very  last,  sir  ;  strange  to  say." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  177 

His  glance  shifted  from  her  face  and  he  turned  with  a 
bow  towards  the  door. 

"  May  I  ask,"  she  slowly  inquired  as  he  moved  across 
the  floor,  "  what  is  the  reason  of  this  sudden  interest  in  poor 
papa  ?  " 

"  Certainly,"  said  he,  pausing  and  looking  back,  not  with- 
out some  emotion  of  pity  in  his  glance.  "  I  am  sometimes 
struck  with  a  sense  of  the  duty  I  owe  you,  in  helping  you 
to  bear  the  burden  of  certain  secret  responsibilities  which  I 
fear  may  sometimes  prove  too  heavy  for  you." 

She  gave  a  little  rippling  laugh  that  only  sounded  hollow 
to  the  image  listening  in  the  glass.  "You  choose  strange 
times  in  which  to  be  struck,"  said  she,  holding  up  two 
dresses  for  his  inspection,  with  a  lift  of  her  brows  evidently 
meant  as  an  inquiry  as  to  which  he  thought  the  most  be- 
coming. 

"  Conscience  is  the  chooser,  not  I,"  declared  he,  for  once 
allowing  himself  to  ignore  the  weighty  question  of  dress  thus 
propounded. 

His  wife  gave  a  little  toss  of  her  head  and  he  left  the 
room. 

"  I  should  like  Edward  very  much,"  murmured  she  in  a 
burst  of  confidence  to  her  own  reflection  in  the  glass,  "  if 
only  he  would  not  bother  himself  so  much  about  that  same 
disagreeable  conscience." 

"You  look  unhappy,"  said  Mr.  Sylvester  to  Paula  as 
they  came  from  the  dining-room.  "  Have  the  adventures  of 


i;8  THE   SIVORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

the  day  made  such  an  impression  upon  you  that  you  will  not 
be  able  to  enjoy  the  evening's  festivities  ?  " 

She  lifted  her  face  and  the  quick  smile  came. 

"  I  do  not  like  to  see  your  brow  so  clouded/'  continued 
he,  smoothing  his  own  to  meet  her  searching  eye.  "  Smiles 
should  sit  on  the  lips  of  youth,  or  else  why  are  they  so  rosy." 

"Would  you  have  me  smile  in  face  of  my  first  glimpse  of 
wickedness,"  asked  she,  but  in  a  gentle  tone  that  robbed  her 
words  of  half  their  reproach.  "  You  must  remember  that  I 
have  had  but  little  experience  with  the  world.  I  have  lived 
all  my  life  in  a  town  of  wholesome  virtues,  and  while  here  I 
have  been  kept  from  contact  with  anything  low  or  base.  I 
have  never  known  vice,  and  now  all  in  a  moment  I  feel  as  if 
I  have  been  bathed  in  it." 

He  took  her  by  the  hand  and  drew  her  gently  towards 
him.  "Does  your  whole  being  recoil  so  from  evil,  my 
Paula  ?  What  will  you  do  in  this  wicked  world  ?  What 
will  you  say  to  the  sinner  when  you  meet  him  —  as  you 
must  ? " 

"  I  don't  know  ;  it's  a  problem  I  have  never  been  brought 
to  consider.  I  feel  as  if  launched  on  a  dismal  sea  for  which 
I  have  neither  chart  nor  compass.  Life  was  so  joyous  to  me 
this  morning — "  a  flush  swept  over  her  cheek  but  he  did  not 
notice  it — "  I  held,  or  seemed  to  hold,  a  cup  of  white  wine 
in  my  hand,  but  suddenly  as  I  looked  at  it,  it  turned  black 
and — " 

Ah,  the  outreach,  the  dismal  breaking  away  of  thought 
into  the  unfathomable,  that  lies  in  the  pause  of  an  and! 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

"And  do  you  refuse  to  drink  a  cup  across  which  has 
fallen  a  shadow,"  murmured  Mr.  Sylvester,  his  eyes  fixed  on 
her  face,  "  the  inevitable  shadow  of  that  great  mass  of  human 
frailty  and  woe  which  has  been  accumulating  from  the  foun- 
dation of  the  world  ?  " 

"  No,  no,  I  cannot,  and  retain  my  humanity.  If  there  is 
such  evil  in  the  world,  its  pressure  must  drive  it  across  the 
path  of  innocence." 

"  And  you  accept  the  cup  ?  " 

"  I  must ;  but  oh,  my  Vanished  beliefs  !  This  morning 
the  wine  of  my  life  was  pure  and  white,  now  it  is  black  and 
befouled.  What  will  make  it  clean  again  ?" 

With  a  sigh  Mr.  Sylvester  dropped  her  hand  and  turned 
towards  the  mantle-piece.  It  was  April  as  I  have  said,  and 
there  was  no  fire  in  the  grate,  but  he  posed  his  foot  on  the 
fender  and  looked  sadly  down  at  the  empty  hearthstone. 

"  Paula,"  said  he  -after  a  space  of  pregnant  silence,  "  it 
had  to  come.  The  veil  of  the  temple  must  be  rent  in. 
every  life.  Evil  is  too  near  us  all  for  us  to  tread  long  upon 
the  flowers  without  starting  up  the  adders  that  hide  be- 
neath them.  You  had  to  have  your  first  look  into  the 
cells  of  darkness,  and  perhaps  it  is  best  you  had  it  here  and 
now.  The  deeps  are  for  men's  eyes  as  well  as  the  starry 
heavens." 

"  Yes,  yes." 

"  There  are  some  persons,"  he  went  on  slowly,  "  you  know 
them,  who  tread  the  ways  of  life  with  their  eyelids  closed 
to  everything  but  the  strip  of  velvet  lawn  on  which  they 


1 80  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

choose  to  walk.  Earth's  sighs  and  deep-drawn  groans  are 
nothing  to  them.  The  world  may  swing  on  in  its  way  to 
perdition  ;  so  long  as  their  pathway  feels  soft,  they  neither 
heed  nor  care.  But  you  do  not  desire  to  be  one  of  these, 
Paula !  With  your  great  soul  and  your  strong  heart,  you 
would  not  ask  to  sit  in  a  flowery  maze,  while  the  rest  of  the 
world  went  sliding  on  and  down  into  wells  of  destruction, 
you  might  have  made  pools  of  healing  by  the  touch  of  your 
womanly  sympathy." 

"  No,  no," 

"  I  cannot  tell  you,  I  dare  not  tell  you,"  he  went  on  in 
a  strange  pleading  voice  that  tore  at  the  very  roots  of  her 
heart,  and  rung  in  her  memory  forever,  "  what  evil  underlies 
the  whole  strata  of  life  !  At  home  and  abroad,  on  our 
hearthstones  and  within  our  offices,  the  mocking  devil  sits. 
You  can  scarcely  walk  a  block,  my  little  one,  without  en- 
countering a  man  or  brushing  against  the  dress  of  a  woman 
across  whose  soul  the  black  shadow  lies  heavier  than  any 
words  of  his  or  hers  could  tell.  What  the  man  you  saw 
to-day,  said  of  one  unhappy  being  in  this  city,  is  true,  God 
help  us  all,  of  many.  Dark  spots  are  easier  acquired 
than  blotted  out,  my  Paula.  In  business  as  in  society,  one 
needs  to  carry  the  white  shield  of  a  noble  purpose  or  a  self- 
forgetting  love,  to  escape  the  dripping  of  the  deadly  upas 
tree  that  branches  above  all  humanity.  I  have  walked  its 
ways,  my  darling,  and  I  know  of  what  I  speak.  Your 
white  robe  is  spotless  but — " 

"  0  there  is  where  the  pain  comes  in,"  she  cried ;  "  there, 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  l8l 

just  there,  is  where  the  dagger  strikes.  She  says  she  was 
once  like  me.  O,  could  any  temptation,  any  suffering,  any 
wrong  or  misfortune  that  might  befall  me,  ever  bring  me  to 
where  she  is  !  If  it  could — " 

"  Paula !  "  This  time  his  voice  came  authoritatively. 
"You  are  making  too  much  of  a  frenzied  woman's  impul- 
sive exclamation.  To  her  darkened  and  despairing  eyes 
any  young  woman  of  a  similar  style  of  beauty  would  have 
called  forth  the  same  remark.  It  was  a  sign  that  she  was 
not  entirely  given  up  to  evil,  that  she  could  remember  her 
youth.  Instead  of  feeling  contaminated  by  her  words,  you 
ought  to  feel,  that  unconsciously  to  yourself,  your  fresh 
young  countenance  with  its  innocent  eyes  did  an  angel's 
work  to-day.  They  made  her  recall  what  she  was  in  the 
days  of  her  own  innocence  ;  and  who  can  tell  what  may 
follow  such  a  recollection." 

"O  Mr.  Sylvester,"  said  she,  "you  fill  me  with  shame. 
If  I  could  think  that," — 

"  You  can,  nothing  appeals  to  the  heart  of  crime  like  the 
glance  of  perfect  innocence.  If  evil  walks  the  world,  God's 
ministers  walk  it  also,  and  none  can  tell  in  what  glance  of 
the  eye  or  what  touch  of  the  hand,  that  ministry  will  speak." 

It  was  her  turn  now  to  take  his  hand  in  hers.  "  O  how 
good,  how  thoughtful  you  are  ;  you  have  comforted  me  and 
you  have  taught  me.  I  thank  you  very  much." 

With  a  look  she  did  not  perceive,  he  drew  his  hand 
away.  "  I  am  glad  I  have  helped  you,  Paula ;  there  is  but 
one  thing  more  to  say,  and  this  I  would  emphasize  with 


1 82  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

every  saddened  look  you  have  ever  met  in  all  your  life. 
Great  sins  make  great  sufferers.  Side  by  side  came  the  two 
dreadful  powers  of  vice  and  retribution  into  the  world,  and 
side  by  side  will  they  keep  till  they  sink  at  last  into  the 
awful  deeps  of  the  bottomless  pit.  When  you  turn  your 
back  on  a  man  who  has  committed  a  crime,  one  more  door 
shuts  in  his  darkened  spirit." 

The  tears  were  falling  from  Paula's  eyes  now.  He 
looked  at  them  with  strange  wistfulness  and  involuntarily 
his  hand  rose  to  her  head,  smoothing  her  locks  with  fatherly 
touches.  "  Do  not  think,"  said  he,  "  that  I  would  lessen  by 
a  hair's  breadth  your  hatred  of  evil.  I  can  more  easily  bear 
to  see  the  shadow  upon  your  cup  of  joy  than  upon  the  banner 
of  truth  you  carry.  These  eyes  must  lose  none  of  their  inner 
light  in  glancing  compassionately  on  your  fellow-men.  Only 
remember  that  divinity  itself  has  stooped  to  rescue,  and  let 
the  thought  make  your  contact  with  weary,  wicked-hearted 
humanity  a  little  less  trying  and  a  little  more  hopeful  to  you. 
And  now,  my  dear,  that  is  enough  of  serious  talk  for  to-day. 
We  are  bound  for  a  reception,  you  know,  and  it  is  time  we 
were  dressing.  "  Do  you  want  me  to  tell  you  a  secret  ? 
asked  he  in  a  light  mysterious  tone,  as  he  saw  her  eyes  stil 
filling. 

She  glanced  up  with  sudden  interest. 

"  I  know  it  is  treason,"  resumed  he,  "  I  am  fully  aware  of 
the  grave  nature  of  my  offence ;  but  Paula  I  hate  all  public 
receptions,  and  shall  only  be  able  to  enjoy  myself  to-night 
just  so  much  as  I  see  that  you  are  doing  so.  Life  has  its  dark 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  183 

portals  and  its  bright  ones.  This  is  one  that  you  must  enter 
with  your  most  brilliant  smiles." 

"And  they  shall  not  be  lacking,"  said  she.  "When  a 
treasure-box  of  thought  is  given  us,  we  do  not  open  it  and 
scatter  its  contents  abroad,  but  lay  it  away  where  the  heart 
keeps  its  secrets,  to  be  opened  in  the  hush  of  night  when  we 
are  alone  with  our  own  souls  and  God." 

He  smiled  and  she  moved  towards  the  door.  "  None  the 
less  do  we  carry  with  us  wherever  we  go,  the  remembrance 
of  our  hidden  treasure,"  she  smilingly  added,  looking  back 
upon  him  from  the  stair. 

And  again  as  upon  the  first  night  of  her  entrance  into 
the  house,  did  he  stand  below  and  watch  her  as  she  softly 
went  up,  her  lovely  face  flashing  one  moment  against  the 
dark  back-ground  of  the  luxurious  bronze,  towering  from 
the  platform  behind,  then  glowing  with  faint  and  fainter 
lustre,  as  the  distance  widened  between  them  and  she  van- 
ished in  the  regions  above. 

She  did  not  see  the  toss  of  his  arm  with  which  he  threw 
off  the  burden  that  rested  upon  his  soul- 


XVII. 

GRAVE    AND    GAY. 

41  No  scandal  about  Queen  Elizabeth  I  hope."     —SHERIDAN. 
"  Stands  Scotland  where  it  did  ?  "  —MACBETH. 

"WHO  is  that  talking  with  Miss  Stuyvesant  ?  "  asked  Mr. 
Sylvester,  approaching  his  wife  during  one  of  the  lulls  that 
will  fall  at  times  upon  vast  assemblies. 

Mrs.  Sylvester  followed  the  direction  of  his  glance  and 
immediately  responded,  "  O  that  is  Mr.  Ensign,  one  of  the 
best  partis  of  the  season.  He  evidently  knows  where  to  pay 
his  court." 

"  I  inquired  because  he  has  just  requested  me  to  honor 
him  with  a  formal  introduction  to  Paula." 

"  Indeed  !  then  oblige  him  by  all  means  ;  it  would  be  a 
great  match  for  her.  To  say  nothing  of  his  wealth,  he  is 
haut  ton,  and  his  red  whiskers  will  not  look  badly  beside 
Paula's  dark  hair." 

Mr.  Sylvester  frowned,  then  sighed,  but  in  a  few  minutes 
•  Paula  observed  him  approaching  with  Mr.  Ensign.  At  once 
her  hitherto  pale  cheek  flushed,  but  the  young  gentleman  did 
not  seem  to  object  to  that,  and  after  the  formal  introduction 
which  he  had  sought  was  over,  he  exclaimed  in  his  own 
bright  ringing  tones, 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  "       185 

"  The  fates  have  surely  forgotten  their  usual  role  of  un- 
propitiousness.  I  did  not  dare  hope  to  meet  you  here  to- 
night, Miss  Fairchild.  Was  the  ride  all  that  your  fancy 
painted  ?" 

"O,"  said  she,  speaking  very  low  and  glancing  around, 
"do  not  allude  to  it  here.  We  had  an  adventure  shortly 
after  you  parted  from  us." 

"  An  adventure  !  and  no  cavalier  at  your  side  !  If  I 
could  but  have  known  !  Was  it  so  serious  ?  "  he  inquired  in 
a  moment,  seeing  her  look  grave. 

*'  Ask  Miss  Stuyvesant ;"  said  she.  "  I  cannot  talk  about 
it  any  more  to-night.  Besides  the  music  carries  off  one's 
thoughts.  It  is  like  a  joyous  breeze  that  whirls  away  the 
thistle-down  whether  it  will  or  no." 

He  gave  her  a  short  quick  look  grave  enough  in  its  way, 
but  responded  with  his  usual  graceful  humor,  "  The  thistle- 
down is  too  vicious  a  sprite  to  be  beguiled  away  so  easily. 
If  I  were  to  give  my  opinion  on  the  subject,  I  should  say 
there  was  method  in  its  madness.  If  you  have  been  brought 
up  in  the  country,  as  I  suspect  from  your  remark,  you  must 
know  that  the  white  floating  ball  is  not  as  harmless  as  it 
would  lead  you  to  imagine.  It  is  a  meddlesome  nobody, 
that's  what  it  is,  and  like  some  country  gossips  I  know, 
launches  forth  from  a  pure  love  of  mischief  to  establish  his 
prickers  in  his  neighbor's  field." 

"  His  /  I  thought  it  must  be  feminine  at  least  to  fulfil 
the  conditions  you  mention.  A  male  gossip,  0  fie  !  I  shall 
never  have  patience  with  a  thistle-ball  after  this." 


1 86  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Well,"  laughed  he,  "  I  did  start  with  the  intention  of 
making  it  feminine,  but  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  your  eyes  and 
lost  my  courage.  I  did  what  I  could,"  added  he  with  a 
mirthful  glance. 

"  So  do  the  thistles,"  cried  she.  Then  while  both  voices 
joined  in  a  merry  laugh,  she  continued,  "  But  where  have  we 
strayed  ?  For  a  moment  it  seemed  as  if  we  were  on  the  hills 
at  Grotewell ;  I  could  almost  see  the  blue  sky." 

*  And  I,"  said  he,  with  his  eyes  on  her  face. 

"  I  am  sure  the  brooks  bubbled." 

"  I  distinctly  heard  a  bird  singing." 

"  It  was  a  whippowill." 

"  But  my  name  is  Clarence  ?  " 

And  here  both  being  young  and  without  a  care  in  the 
world,  they  laughed  again.  And  the  crowded  perfumed 
room  seemed  to  freshen  as  with  a  whiff  of  mountain  air. 

"  You  love  the  country,  Miss  Fairchild  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  "  and  her  smile  was  the  reflection  of  the  summer- 
lands  that  arose  before  her  at  the  word.  "  With  the  right 
side  of  my  heart  do  I  love  the  spot  where  nature  speaks  and 
man  is  dumb." 

"  And  with  the  left  ?  " 

"  I  love  the  place  where  great  men  congregate  to  face 
their  destiny  and  control  it." 

"  The  latter  is  the  deeper  love,"  said  he. 

She  nodded  her  head  and  then  said,  "  I  need  both  to 
make  me  happy.  Sometimes  as  I  walk  these  city  streets, 
I  feel  as  if  my  very  longing  to  escape  to  the  heart  of  the  hills, 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  l8/ 

would  carry  me  there.  I  remember  when  I  was  a  child,  I 
was  one  day  running  through  a  meadow,  when  suddenly  a 
whole  flock  of  birds  flew  up  from  the  grass  and  surrounded 
my  head.  I  was  not  sure  but  what  I  should  be  caught  up 
and  carried  away  by  the  force  of  their  flight ;  and  when  they 
rose  to  mid  heaven,  something  in  my  breast  seemed  to  follow 
them.  So  it  is  often  with  me  here,  only  that  it  is  the  rush  of 
my  thoughts  that  threatens  such  a  Hegira.  "  Yet  if  I  were 
to  be  transported  to  my  native  hills,  I  know  I  should  long  to 
be  back  again." 

"  The  mountain  lassie  has  wandered  into  the  courts  of 
the  king.  The  perfume  of  palaces  is  not  easily  forgotten." 

Her  eye  turned  towards  Mr.  Sylvester  standing  near 
them  upright  and  firm,  talking  to  a  group  of  attentive  gentle- 
men every  one  of  whom  boasted  a  name  of  more  than  local 
celebrity.  "  Without  a  royal  heart  to  govern,  there  would 
be  no  palace  ;"  said  she,  and  blushed  under  a  sudden  sense 
of  the  possible  interpretation  he  might  give  to  her  words, 
till  the  rose  in  her  hand  looked  pallid. 

But  he  had  followed  her  glance  and  understood  her 
better  than  she  thought.  "  And  Mr.  Sylvester  has  such  a 
heart,  so  a  hundred  good  fellows  have  told  me.  You  are 
fortunate  to  see  the  city  from  the  loop-hole  of  such  a  home 
as  his." 

"  It  is  more  than  a  loop-hole,"  said  she. 

"  Of  that  I  shall  never  be  satisfied  till  I  see  it  ?  " 

And  being  content  with  the  look  he  received,  he  took 
her  on  his  arm  and  led  her  into  the  midst  of  the  dancers. 


1 88  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES.  ,  •..' 

Meanwhile  in  a  certain  comer  not  far  off,  two  gentlemen 
were  talking. 

"  Sylvester  shows  off  well  to-night." 

"  He  always  does.  With  such  a  figure  as  that,  a  man 
needs  but  to  enter  a  room  to  make  himself  felt.  But  then 
he's  a  good  talker  too.  Ever  heard  him  speak  ? " 

"  No." 

"  Fine  voice,  true  snap,  right  ring.  Great  favorite  at 
elections.  The  fact  is,  Sylvester  is  a  remarkable  man." 

"  Hum,  ha,  so  I  should  judge." 

"  And  so  fortunate  !  He  has  never  been  known  to  run 
foul  in  a  great  operation.  Put  your  money  in  his  hand  and 
whew  ! — your  fortune  is  as  good  as  made." 

The  other,  a  rich  man,  connected  heavily  with  the  mining 
business  in  Colorado,  smiled  with  that  bland  overflow  of  the 
whole  countenance  which  is  sometimes  seen  in  large  men  of 
great  self-importance. 

"  It's  a  pity  he's  gone  out  of  Wall  Street,"  continued  his 
companion.  "  The  younger  fry  feel  now  something  like  a 
flock  of  sheep  that  has  lost  its  bell-wether." 

"  They  straggle — eh  ?  "  returned  his  portly  friend  with  an 
Increase  of  his  smile  that  was  not  altogether  pleasant.  "  So 
Sylvester  has  left  Wall  Street  ?  " 

"  He  closed  his  last  enterprise  two  weeks  before  accept- 
ing the  Presidency  of  the  Madison  Bank.  Stuyvesant  is 
down  on  speculation,  and  well — It  looks  better  you  know; 
the  Madison  Bank  is  an  old  institution,  and  Sylvester  is  am- 
bitious. There'll  be  no  reckless  handling  of  funds  t/iere." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  189 

"  No  !  "  What  was  there  in  that  no  that  made  the  other 
look  up  ?  "  I'm  not  acquainted  with  Sylvester  myself.  Has 
he  much  family  ?  " 

"  A  wife — there  she  is,  that  handsome  woman  talking 
with  Ditman, — and  a  daughter,  niece  or  somebody  who  just 
now  is  setting  all  our  young  scapegraces  by  the  ears.  You 
can  see  her  if  you  just  crane  your  neck  a  little." 

"  Humph,  ha,  very  pretty,  very  pretty.  How  much  do 
you  suppose  Mrs.  Sylvester  is  worth  as  she  stands,  diamonds 
you  know,  and  all  that  ?  " 

"  Well  I  should  say  some  where  near  ten  thousand  ;  that 
sprig  in  her  hair  cost  a  clean  five." 

"  So,  so.     They  live  in  a  handsome  house  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  A  regular  palace,  corner  of  Fifth  Avenue  and  — 
street. 

"  All  his  ?  " 

"Nobody's  else  I  reckon." 

"  Sports  horses  and  carriage  I  suppose  ?  " 

"Of  course." 

"  Yacht,  opera  box  ? " 

"  No  reason  why  he  shouldn't." 

"  What  is  his  salary  ?  " 

"  A  nominal  sum,  five  or  ten  thousand  perhaps." 

"  Owns  good  share  of  the  bank's  stock  I  presume  ?  " 

"  Enough  to  control  it." 

"  Below  par  though  ?  " 

"  A  trifle,  going  up,  however." 

"  And  dont  speculate  ?  " 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

The  way  this  man  drawled  his  words  was  excessively 
disagreeable. 

"  Not  that  any  one  knows  of.  He's  made  his  fortune 
and  now  asks  only  to  enjoy  it." 

The  man  from  the  West  strutted  back  and  looked  at  his 
companion  knowingly.  "  What  do  you  think  of  my  judg- 
ment, Stadler  ?  " 

"  None  better  this  side  of  the  Pacific." 

"  Pretty  good  at  spying  out  cracks,  eh  ?  " 

"  I  wouldn't  like  to  undertake  the  puttying  up  that  would 
deceive  you." 

"  Humph  !  Well  then,  mark  this.  In  two  months  from 
to-day  you  will  see  Mr.  Sylvester  rent  his  house  and  go  south 
for  his  health,  or  the  pretty  one  over  there  will  marry  one  of 
the  scapegraces  you  mention,  who  will  lend  the  man  who 
dont  engage  in  any  further  ventures,  more  than  one  or  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars." 

"  Ha,  you  know  something." 

"  I  own  mines  in  Colorado  and  I  have  my  points." 

"  And  Mr.  Sylvester  ?  " 

"  Will  find  them  too  sharp  for  him." 

And  having  made  his  joke,  he  yielded  to  the  other's  ap- 
parent restlessness,  and  they  sauntered  off. 

They  did  not  observe  a  pale,  demure,  little  lady  that 
sat  near  them  abstractedly  nodding  her  dainty  head  to  the 
remarks  of  a  pale-whiskered  youth  at  her  side,  nor  notice  the 
emotion  with  which  she  suddenly  rose  at  their  departure  and 
dismissed  her  chattering  companion  on  some  impromptu 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  19 1 

errand.  It  was  only  one  of  the  ordinary  group  of  dancers,  a 
pretty,  plainly  dressed  girl,  but  her  name  was  Stuyvesant. 

Rising  with  a  decision  that  gave  a  very  attractive  color  to 
her  cheeks,  she  hastily  looked  around.  A  trio  of  young 
gentlemen  started  towards  her  but  she-  gave  them  no  encour- 
agement ;  her  eye  had  detected  Mr.  Sylvester's  tall  figure  a 
few  feet  off  and  it  was  to  him  she  desired  to  speak.  But  at 
her  first  movement  in  his  direction,  her  glance  encountered 
another  face,  and  like  a  stream  that  melts  into  a  rushing 
torrent,  her  purpose  seemed  to  vanish,  leaving  her  quivering 
with  a  new  emotion  of  so  vivid  a  character  she  involuntarily 
looked  about  her  for  a  refuge. 

But  in  another  instant  her  eyes  had  again  sought  the 
countenance  that  had  so  moved  her,  and  finding  it  bent 
upon  her  own,  faltered  a  little  and  unconsciously  allowed 
the  lilies  she  was  carrying  to  drop  from  her  hand.  Before 
she  realized  her  loss,  the  face  before  her  had  vanished,  and 
with  it  something  of  her  hesitation  and  alarm. 

With  a  hasty  action  she  drew  near  Mr.  Sylvester.  "  Will 
you  lend  me  your  arm  for  a  minute  ?  "  she  asked,  with  her 
usual  appealing  look  rendered  doubly  forcible  by  the  expe- 
rience of  a  moment  before. 

"  Miss  Stuyvesant  !     I  am  happy  to  see  you." 

Never  had  his  face  looked  more  cheerful  she  thought, 
never  had  his  smile  struck  her  more  pleasantly. 

"  A  little  talk  with  a  little  girl  will  not  hinder  you  too 
much,  will  it  ? "  she  queried,  glancing  at  the  group  of  gen- 
tlemen that  had  shrunk  back  at  her  approach. 


IQ2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Do  you  call  that  hindrance  which  relieves  one  from 
listening  to  quotations  of  bank  stock  at  an  evening  iccep 
tion  ?  " 

She  shook  her  head  with  a  confused  movement,  and  led 
him  up  before  a  stand  of  flowering  exotics. 

"  I  want  to  tell  you  something,"  she  said  eagerly  but 
with  a  marked  timidity  also,  the  tall  form  beside  her  looked 
so  imposing  for  all  its  encouraging  bend.  "  I  beg  your  par- 
don if  I  am  doing  wrong,  but  papa  regards  you  with  such 
esteem  and — Mr.  Sylvester  do  you  know  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Stadler?" 

Astonished  at  such  a  question  from  lips  so  ycung  and 
dainty,  he  turned  and  surveyed  her  for  a  moment  with  quick 
surprise.  Something  in  her  aspect  struck  him.  He  an- 
swered at  once  and  without  circumlocution.  "Yes,  if  you 
refer  to  that  spry  keen-faced  man,  just  entering  the  supper- 
room." 

"Do  you  know  his  companion  ?  "  she  proceeded  ;  "the 
portly,  highly  pompous-looking  gentleman  with  the  gold 
eye-glasses  ?  Look  quickly." 

"No."  There  was  an  uneasiness  in  his  tone  however 
that  struck  her  painfully. 

"  He  is  a  stranger  in  town  ;  has  not  the  honor  of  your 
acquaintance  he  says,  but  from  the  questions  he  asked,  I 
judge  he  has  a  great  interest  in  your  affairs.  He  spoke  of 
being  connected  with  mines  in  Colorado.  I  was  sitting 
behind  a  curtain  and  overheard  what  was  said." 

Mr.  Sylvester  turned  pale  and  regarded  her  attentively. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  193 

"  Might  I  be  so  bold,"  he  inquired  after  a  moment.  "  as  to 
ask  you  what  that  was  ?  " 

"  Yes,  sir,  certainly,  but  it  is  even  harder  for  me  to  repeat 
than  it  was  for  me  to  hear.  He  inquired  about  your  domes- 
tic concerns,  your  home  and  your  income,"  she  murmured 
blushing;  "and  then  said,  in  what  I  thought  was  a  some- 
what exulting  tone,  that  in  two  months  or  so  we  should  see 
you  go  South  for  your  health  or — Is  not  that  enough  for 
me  to  tell  you,  Mr.  Sylvester  ?  " 

He  gave  her  a  short  stare,  opened  his  lips  as  if  to  speak, 
then  turned  abruptly  aside  and  began  picking  mechanically 
at  the  blossoms  before  him. 

"  I,  of  course,  do  not  know  what  men  mean  when  they 
talk  of  possessing  points.  But  the  leer  and  side  glance  which 
accompanies  such  talk,  have  a  universal  language  we  all 
understand,  and  I  felt  that  I  must  warn  you  of  that  man's 
malice  if  only  because  papa  regards  you  so  highly." 

He  shrank  as  if  touched  on  a  sore  place,  but  bowed  and 
answered  the  wistful  appeal  of  her  glance  with  a  shadow  of 
his  usual  smile,  then  he  turned,  and  looking  towards  the 
door  through  which  the  two  men  had  disappeared,  made  a 
movement  as  if  he  would  follow.  But  remembering  himself, 
escorted  her  to  a  seat,  saying  as  he  did  so : 

"  You  are  very  kind,  Miss  Stuyvesant  ;  please  say  noth- 
ing of  this  to  Paula." 

She  bowed  and  a  flitting  smile  crossed  her  upturned 
countenance.  "  I  am  not  much  of  a  gossip,  Mr.  Sylvester, 
or  I  should  have  been  tempted  to  have  carried  my  informa- 
tion to  my  father  instead  of  to  you." 


194  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

He  understood  the  implied  promise  in  this  remark  and 
gave  the  hand  on  his  arm  a  quick  pressure,  before  relinquish- 
ing her  to  the  care  of  the  pale-complexioned  youth  who  by 
this  time  had  returned  to  her  side. 

In  another  moment  Paula  came  up  on  -the  arm  of  a  black- 
whiskered  gentleman  all  shirt  front  and  eye-glasses.  "  O 
Cicely,"  she  cried,  (she  called  Miss  Stuyvesant,  Cicely  now) 
"  is  it  not  a  delightful  evening?  " 

"  Are  you  enjoying  yourself  so  much  ?  "  inquired  that 
somewhat  agitated  little  lady,  with  a  glance  at  the  counten- 
ance of  her  friend's  attendant. 

"  I  fear  it  would  scarcely  seem  consistent  in  me  now  to 
say  no,"  returned  the  radiant  girl,  with  a  laughing  glance 
towards  the  same  gentleman. 

But  when  they  were  alone,  the  gentleman  having  de- 
parted on  some  of  the  innumerable  errands  with  which  ladies 
seem  to  delight  in  afflicting  their  attendant  cavaliers  at  balls 
or  receptions,  she  atoned  fqr  that  glance  by  remarking, 

"  I  do  not  find  the  average  partner  that  falls  to  one's  lot 
in  such  receptions  all  that  fancy  paints."  And  then  finding 
she  had  repeated  a  phrase  of  Mr.  Ensign's,  blushed,  though 
no  one  stood  near  her  but  Cicely. 

"Fancy's  brush  would  need  to  be  dipped  in  but  two 
colors  to  present  to  our  eye  the  mass  of  them,"  was  Cicely's 
laughing  reply.  "  A  streak  of  black  for  the  coat,  and  a  daub 
of  white  for  the  shirt  front.  Voila  tout" 

"With  perhaps  a  dash  of  red  in  some  cases,"  murmured 
a  voice  over  their  shoulders. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  195 

They  turned  with  hurried  blushes.  "  Ah,  Mr.  Ensign," 
quoth  Cicely  in  unabashed  gaiety,  "we  reserve  red  for  the 
exceptions.  We  did  not  intend  to  include  our  acknowledged 
friends  in  our  somewhat  sweeping  assertion." 

''  Ah,  I  see,  the  black  streak  and  the  white  daub  are  a 
symbol  of,  'Er — Miss  Stuyvesant — very  warm  this  even- 
ing !  Have  an  ice,  do.  /  always  have  an  ice  after  dancing  ; 
so  refreshing,  you  know.'  " 

The  manner  in  which  he  imitated  the  usual  languid  drawl 
of  certain  of  the  young  scapegraces  heretofore  mentioned, 
was  irresistable.  Paula  forgot  her  confusion  in  her  mirth. 

"  You  are  blessed  with  a  capacity  for  playing  both  roles, 
I  perceive,"  cried  Cicely  with  unusual  abandon.     "  Well,  it  is 
convenient,  there  is  nothing  like  scope." 
.    "  Unless  it  is  hope,"  whispered  Mr.  Ensign  so  low  that 
only  Paula  could  hear. 

"  But  I  warn  you,"  continued  Cicely,  with  a  sweet  soft 
laugh  that  seemed  to  carry  her  heart  far  out  into  the  passing 
throng,  "  that  we  have  no  fondness  for  the  model  beau  of 
the  period.  A  dish  of  milk  makes  a  very  good  supper  but  it 
looks  decidedly  pale  on  the  dinner  table." 

"  Yes,"  said  Paula,  eying  the  various  young  men  that  filed 
up  and  down  before  them,  some  pale,  some  dark,  some  hand- 
some, some  plain,  but  all  smiling  and  dapper,  if  not  de- 
bonair, "  some  men  could  be  endured  if  only  they  were  not 
men." 

Mr.  Ensign  gave  her  a  quick  look,  and  while  he  laughed 
at  the  paradox,  straightened  himself  like  one  who  could  be 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

a  man  if  the  occasion  called.  She  saw  the  action  and 
blushed. 

But  their  conversation  was  soon  interrupted.  Mr.  Syl- 
vester was  seen  returning  from  the  supper-room,  looking  de- 
cidedly anxious,  and  while  Paula  was  ignorant  of  what  had 
transpired  to  annoy  him,  her  ready  spirit  caught  the  alarm, 
and  she  was  about  to  rush  up  to  him  and  address  him,  when 
one  of  the  waiters  approached,  and  murmuring  a  few  words 
she  did  not  hear,  handed  him  a  card  upon  which  she  descried 
nothing  but  a  simple  circle.  Instantly  a  change  crossed  his 
already  agitated  countenance,  and  advancing  to  the  ladies 
with  a  word  or  two  that  while  seemingly  cheerful,  struck 
Paula  as  somewhat  forced,  excused  himself  with  the  infor- 
mation that  a  business  friend  had  been  so  inconsiderate  as 
to  importune  him  for  an  interview  in  the  hall.  And  with 
just  a  nod  towards  Mr.  Ensign,  who  had  drawn  back  at  his 
advance,  left  them  and  disappeared  in  the  crowd  about  the 
door. 

"  I  do  not  like  these  interruptions  from  business  friends 
in  a  time  of  pleasure,"  cried  Paula,  looking  after  him  with 
anxious  eyes.  "  Did  you  notice  how  agitated  he  seemed, 
Cicely  ?  And  half  an  hour  ago  he  was  the  picture  of  calm 
enjoyment." 

"  Business  is  beyond  our  comprehension,'  Paula,"  re- 
turned her  friend  evasively.  "  It  is  something  like  a  neu- 
ralgic twinge,  it  takes  a  man  when  he  least  expects  it.  Have 
you  told  Mr.  Ensign  of  our  adventure  ?  " 

"No,  but  I  informed  Mr.  Sylvester,  and  he  said  such 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  1 97 

good,  true  words  to  me,  Cicely.  I  can  never  forget 
them." 

"  And  I  told  papa ;  but  he  only  frowned  and  made  some 
observation  about  the  degeneracy  of  the  times,  and  the  num- 
ber of  scamps  thrown  to  the  top  by  the  modern  methods  of 
acquiring  instantaneous  fortunes." 

"Your  papa  is  sometimes  hard,  is  he  not,  Cicely  ?  " 

With  a  flush  Miss  Stuyvesant  allowed  her  eye  to  rest  for 
a  moment  on  the  crowd  shifting  before  her.  "  He  was  dug 
from  a  quarry  of  granite,  Paula.  He  is  both  hard  and  sub- 
stantial ;  capable  of  being  hewn  but  not  of  being  moulded. 
Of  such  stuff  are  formed  monuments  of  enduring  beauty  and 
solidity.  You  must  do  papa  justice." 

"  I  do,  but  I  sometimes  have  a  feeling  as  if  the  granite 
column  would  fall  and  crush  me,  Cicely." 

"  You,  Paula  ?  " 

Before  she  could  again  reply,  Mr.  Sylvester  returned. 
His  face  was  still  pale,  but  it  had  acquired  an  expression  of 
rigidity  even  more  alarming  to  Paula  than  its  previous  aspect 
of  forced  merriment.  Lifting  her  by  the  hand,  he  drew  her 
apart. 

"  I  shall  have  to  leave  you  somewhat  abruptly," 
said  he.  "  An  important  matter  demands  my  instant  atten- 
tion. Bertram  is  somewhere  here,  and  will  see  that  you 
and  Ona  arrive  home  in  safety.  You  won't  allow  your 
enjoyment  to  be  clouded  by  my  hasty  departure,  will 
you?" 

"  Not  if  it  will  make  you  anxious.     But  I  would  rather 


198  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

go  home  with  you  now.  I  am  sure  Cousin  Ona  would  be 
willing." 

"  But  I  am  not  going  home  at  present,"  said  he ;  and  she 
ventured  upon  no  further  remonstrance. 

But  her  enjoyment  was  clouded;  the  sight  of  suffering  or 
anxiety  on  that  face  was  more  than  she  could  bear ;  and  ere 
long  she  said  good-night  to  Cicely,  and  accepting  the  arm 
of  Mr.  Ensign,  who  was  never  very  far  from  her  side,  pro- 
ceeded to  search  for  her  cousin. 

She  found  her  standing  in  the  midst  of  an  admiring 
throng  to  whom  her  diamonds,  if  not  her  smiles,  were  an 
object  of  undoubted  interest.  She  was  in  the  full  tide  of 
one  of  her  longest  and  most  widely  rambling  speeches,  and 
to  Paula,  with  that  stir  of  anxiety  at  her  breast,  was  an  image 
of  self-satisfied  complacency  from  which  she  was  fain  to  drop 
her  eyes. 

"Mrs.  Sylvester  shares  the  honors  with  her  husband,"  re- 
marked Mr.  Ensign  as  they  drew  near. 

"  But  not  the  trials,  or  the  pain,  or  the  care  ?  "  was  Paula's 
inward  comment. 

Mrs.  Sylvester  was  not  easily  wooed  away  from  a  circle 
in  which  she  found  herself  creating  such  an  impression,  but 
at  length  she  yielded  to  Paula's  importunities,  and  consented 
to  accept  young  Mr.  Sylvester's  attendance  to  their  home. 
The  next  thing  was  to  find  Bertram.  Mr.  Ensign  engaged 
to  do  this.  Leaving  Paula  with  her  cousin,  who  may  or  may 
not  have  been  pleased  at  this  sudden  addition  to  her  circle, 
he  sought  for  the  young  man  who  as  Mr.  Mandeville  was  not 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  1 99 

unknown  to  any  of  the  fashionable  men  and  women  of  the 
day.  It  was  no  easy  task,  nor  did  he  find  him  readily,  but  at 
last  he  came  upon  him  leaning  out  of  a  window  and  gazing 
at  a  white  lily  which  he  held  in  his  hand.  Without  pream- 
ble, Mr.  Ensign  made  known  his  errand,  and  Bertram  at 
once  prepared  to  accompany  him  back  to  the  ladies. 

"  By  Jove !  I  didn't  know  the  fellow  was  so  handsome  !  " 
thought  the  former,  and  frowned  he  hardly  knew  why.  Ber- 
tram was  not  handsome,  but  then  Clarence  Ensign  was  plain? 
which  Bertram  certainly  was  not. 

It  was  to  Mr.  Ensign's  face  however  that  Paula's  eyes 
turned  as  the  two  came  up,  and  he  with  the  ready  vivacity 
of  his  natural  temperament  observed  it,  and  took  courage. 

"  I  shall  soon  wish  to  measure  that  loop-hole  of  which  I 
have  spoken,"  said  he. 

And  the  soft  look  in  her  large  dark  eye  as  she  re- 
sponded, "  It  is  always  open  to  friends,"  filled  up  the  meas- 
ure of  his  cup  of  happiness  ;  a  cup  which  unlike  hers,  had 
not  been  darkened  that  day  by  the  falling  of  earth's  most  dis- 
mal shadows. 


XVIII. 

IN    THE   NIGHT   WATCHES. 

"  Shall  I  not  take  mine  ease  in  mine  inn  ?  "  — HEN.  iv. 

"  What  doth  gravity  out  of  his  bed  at  midnight?  "  —Hsu.  iv. 

"  IT  has  been  the  most  delighful  evening  I  have  ever 
passed,"  said  Mrs.  Sylvester,  as  she  threw  aside  her  rich 
white  mantle  in  her  ample  boudoir.  "  Sarah,  two  loops  on 
that  dolman  to-morrow  ;  do  you  hear  ?  I  thought  my  arms 
would  freeze.  Such  an  elegant  gentleman  as  the  Count  de 
Frassac  is  !  He  absolutely  went  wild  over  you,  Paula,  but 
not  understanding  a  word  of  English — O  there,  if  that  horrid 
little  wretch  didn't  drop  his  spoon  on  my  dress  after  all !  He 
swore  it  never  touched  a  thread  of  it,  but  just  look  at  that 
spot,  right  in  the  middle  of  a  pleating  too.  Paula,  your 
opinion  in  regard  to  the  lavendar  was  correct.  I  heard  Mrs. 
Forsyth  Jones  whisper  behind  my  back  that  lavendar  always 
made  blondes  look  fade.  Of  course  I  needed  no  further 
evidence  to  convince  me  that  I  had  entirely  succeeded  in 
eclipsing  her  pale-faced  daughter.  Her  daughter  !  "  and  the 
lazy  gurgle  echoed  softly  through  the  room,  "  As  if  every 
white-haired  girl  in  the  city  considered  herself  entitled  to  be 
called  a  blonde  !  "  She  stopped  to  listen,  examining  herself 
in  the  glass  near  by.  "  I  thought  I  heard  Edward.  It  was 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  2OI 

very  provoking  in  him  to  leave  us  in  the  cavalier  manner 
in  which  he  did.  I  was  just  going  to  introduce  him  to  the 
count,  not  that  he  would  have  esteemed  it  much  of  an 
honor,  Edward  I  mean,  but  when  one  has  a  good-looking 
husband — Sarah,  that  curtain  over  there  hangs  crooked,  pull 
it  straight  this  instant.  Did  you  try  the  oysters,  Paula  ? 
They  were  perfection,  I  shall  have  to  dismiss  Lorenzo  with- 
out ceremony  and  procure  me  a  cook  that  can  make  an  oys- 
ter fricassee.  By  the  way  did  you  notice — "  and  so  on  and 
on  for  five  minutes  additional.  Presently  she  burst  forth 
with — "  I  do  believe  I  know  what  it  is  to  be  thoroughly  sat- 
isfied at  last.  The  consideration  which  one  receives  as  the 
wife  of  the  president  of  the  Madison  bank  is  certainly  very 
gratifying.  If  I  had  known  I  would  feel  such  a  change  in 
the  social  atmosphere,  I  would  have  advocated  Edward's 
dropping  speculation  long  ago.  Beauty  and  wealth  may 
help  one  up  the  social  ladder,  but  only  a  settled  position 
such  as  he  has  now  obtained,  can  carry  you  safely  over  the 
top.  I  feel  at  last  as  if  we  had  reached  the  pinnacle  of  my 
ambition  and  had  seen  the  ladder  by  which  we  mounted 
thrown  down  behind  us.  If  I  get  my  costume  from  Worth 
in  time,  I  shall  give  a  German  next  month." 

Paula  from  her  stand  at  the  door — for  some  minutes  she 
had  been  endeavoring  to  escape  to  her  room — surveyed  her 
cousin  in  wonder.  She  had  never  seen  her  look  as  she  did 
at  that  moment.  Any  one  who  speaks  from  the  heart,  ac- 
quires a  certain  eloquence,  and  Ona  for  once  was  speaking 
from  her  heart.  The  unwonted  emotion  made  her  cheeks 


2O2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

burn,  and  even  her  diamonds,  ten  thousand  dollars  worth  as 
we  have  heard  declared,  were  less  brilliant  than  her  eyes. 
Paula  left  her  station  on  the  door — sill  and  glided  rapidly 
back  to  her  side.  "  O  Ona,"  said  she,  "  if  you  would  only 
look  like  that  when — "  she  paused,  what  right  had  she  to 
venture  upon  giving  lessons  to  her  benefactor. 

"  When  what  ?  "  inquired  the  other,  subsiding  at  once 
into  her  naturally  languid  manner.  Then  with  a  total  for- 
getfulness  of  the  momentary  curiosity  that  had  prompted 
the  question,  held  out  her  head  to  the  attendant  Sarah, 
with  a  command  to  be  relieved  of  her  ornaments.  Paula 
sighed  and  hastened  to  her  room.  She  could  not  bring 
herself  to  mention  her  anxiety  in  regard  to  the  still  absent 
master  of  the  house,  to  this  lazily-smiling  thoroughly  satis- 
fied woman. 

But  none  the  less  did  she  herself  sit  up  in  the  moonlight, 
listening  with  bended  head  for  the  sound  of  his  step  on  the 
walk  beneath.  She  could  not  sleep  while  he  was  absent ; 
and  yet  the  thoughts  that  disturbed  her  and  kept  her  from 
her  virgin  pillow  could  not  have  been  entirely  for  him,  or  why 
those  wandering  smiles  that  ever  and  anon  passed  flitting 
over  her  cheek,  awakening  the  dimples  that  slumbered  there, 
until  she  looked  more  like  a  dreamy  picture  of  delight  than 
a  wakeful  vision  of  apprehension.  Not  entirely  for  him — 
yet  when  somewhere  towards  three  o'clock,  she  heard  the 
long  delayed  step  upon  the  stoop,  she  started  up  with 
eager  eyes  and  a  nervous  gesture  that  sufficiently  betrayed 
how  intense  was  her  interest  in  her  benefactor's  welfare 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  2O/ 

duty,  and  was  taking  out  such  papers  as  he  himself  required, 
when  he  was  surprised  to  catch  another  sight  of  those  same 
extraordinary  organs  of  which  I  have  just  spoken,  peering 
upon  him  from  the  door  by  which  he  had  previously  entered. 
They  vanished  as  soon  as  he  encountered  them,  but  more 
than  once  during  the  morning  he  perceived  them  looking 
upon  him  from  various  quarters  of  the  bank,  till  he-  felt 
himself  growing  seriously  annoyed,  and  sending  for  the  man, 
asked  him  what  he  meant  by  this  unusual  surveillance.  The 
janitor  seemed  troubled,  flushed  painfully  and  fixed  his 
eyes  in  manifest  anxiety  on  the  cashier  who,  engaged  in  some 
search  of  his  own,  was  just  handling  over  the  tin  boxes  that 
lined  the  vault  before  them.  Not  till  he  had  seen  him  shove 
them  back  into  their  place  and  leave  the  spot,  did  he  venture 
upon  his  reply.  "  I'm  sure,  sir,  I'm  very  sorry  if  I  have  an- 
noyed you,  but  do  you  think  Mr.  Sylvester  will  be  down  at 
the  usual  hour  ?  " 

"  I  know  of  no  reason  why  he  should  not,"  returned 
Bertram. 

"  I  have  something  to  say  to  him  when  he  comes  in," 
stammered  the  man,  evidently  taken  aback  by  Bertram's  look 
of  surprise.  "  Will  you  be  kind  enough  to  ring  the  bell  the 
first  moment  he  seems  to  be  at  leisure  ?  I  dont't  know  as  it 
is  a  matter  of  any  importance  but — "  He  stopped,  evidently 
putting  a  curb  upon  himself.  "  Can  I  rely  on  you,  sir  ?  " 

"  Yes,  certainly,  I  will  tell  my  uncle  when  he  comes  in 
that  you  want  to  speak  to  him.  He  will  doubtless  send  for 
you  at  once." 


208  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

The  man  looked  embarrassed.  "  Excuse  me,  sir,  but 
that's  just  what  I'd  rather  you  wouldn't  do.  Mr.  Sylvester 
is  always  very  busy  and  he  might  think  I  wished  to  annoy 
him  about  some  matters  of  my  own,  sir,  as  indeed  I  have  not 
been  above  doing  at  odd  times.  If  you  would  ring  when  he 
comes  in,  that  is  all  I  ask." 

Bertram  thought  this  a  strange  request,  but  seeing  the 
man  so  anxious,  gave  the  required  promise,  and  the  janitor 
hurried  off.  "  Curious  !  "  muttered  Bertram.  "  Can  any- 
thing be  wrong  ?  "  And  he  glanced  about  him  with  some 
curiosity  as  he  went  to  his  desk.  But  every  one  was  at  his 
post  as  usual  and  the  countenances  of  all  were  equally  undis- 
turbed. 

It  was  a  busy  morning  and  in  the  rush  of  various  matters 
Bertram  forgot  the  entire  occurrence.  But  it  was  presently 
recalled  to  him  by  hearing  some  one  remark,  "  Mr.  Sylvester 
is  late  to-day,"  and  looking  up  from  some  papers  he  was 
considering,  he  found  it  was  a  full  hour  after  the  time  at 
which  his  uncle  was  in  the  habit  of  appearing.  Just  then  he 
caught  still  another  sight  of  the  protruding  eyes  of  Hopgood 
staring  in  upon  him  from  the  half-opened  door  at  the  end  of 
the  bank. 

"  The  fellow's  getting  impatient,"  thought  he,  and  ex- 
perienced a  vague  feeling  of  uneasiness. 

Another  half  hour  passed.  "  What  can  have  detained 
Mr.  Sylvester  ?  "  cried  Mr.  Wheelock  the  cashier,  hastily  ap- 
proaching Bertram. 

"  There  is  to  be  an  important  meeting  of  the  Directors 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  2CK) 

to-day,  and  some  of  the  gentlemen  are  already  coming  in. 
Mr.  Sylvester  is  not  accustomed  to  keep  us  waiting." 

"  I  don't  know,  I  am  sure,"  returned  Bertram,  remember- 
ing with  an  accession  of  uneasiness,  the  abruptness  with 
which  his  uncle  had  left  the  entertainment  the  evening  be- 
fore. 

"  Shall  I  telegraph  to  the  house  ?  " 

"  No,  that  is  not  necessary.  Besides  Folger  says  he 
passed  him  on  Broadway  this  morning." 

"  Going  down  street  with  a  valise  in  his  hand,"  that  gen- 
tlemen quietly  put  in.  Folger  was  the  teller.  "  He  was  look- 
ing very  pale  and  didn't  see  me  when  I  nodded." 

"  What  time  was  that  ?  "  asked  Bertram. 

*'  About  twelve  ;  when  I  went  out  to  lunch." 

A  quick  gasp  sounded  at  their  side,  followed  by  a  hurried 
cough.  Turning,  Bertram  encountered  for  the  fifth  time  the 
eyes  of  Hopgood.  He  had  entered  unperceived  by  the  small 
door  that  separated  the  inner  inclosure  from  the  outer,  and 
was  now  standing  very  close  to  them,  eying  with  side-long 
looks  the  safe  at  their  back,  the  faces  of  the  gentleman 
speaking,  yes,  and  even  the  countenances  of  the  clerks,  as 
they  bent  busily  over  their  books. 

"  Did  you  ring,  sir  ?  "  asked  he,  catching  Bertram's  look 
of  displeasure. 

"No." 

The  man  seemed  to  feel  the  rebuke  implied  in  this  short 
response,  and  ambled  softly  away.  But  in  another  -moment 
he  was  stopped  by  Bertram. 


210  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  What  is  the  mattqr  with  you  to-day,  Hopgood  ?  Can 
you  have  anything  of  real  importance  on  your  mind  ;  any- 
thing connected  with  my  uncle  ?  " 

The  janitor  started,  and  looked  almost  frightened.  "  Be 
careful  what  you  say,"  whispered  he  ;  then  with  a  keen  look 
at  Mr.  Wheelock  just  then  on  the  point  of  entering  the  direc- 
tors' room,  he  was  turning  to  escape  by  the  little  door  just 
mentioned,  when  it  opened  and  Mr.  Stuyvesant  came  in. 
With  a  look  almost  of  terror  the  janitor  recoiled,  throwing 
himself  as  it  were  between  the  latter  and  the  door  of  the 
safe  ;  but  recovering  himself,  surveyed  the  keen  quiet  visage 
of  the  veteran  banker  with  a  rolling  of  his  great  eyes 
absolutely  painful  to  behold.  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  who  was 
somewhat  absorbed  in  thought,  did  not  appear  to  notice 
the  agitation  he  had  caused,  and  with  just  a  hurried  nod 
followed  Mr.  Wheelock  into  the  Directors'  room.  In- 
stantly the  janitor  drew  himself  up  with  an  air  of  relief,  and 
shortly  glancing  at  the  clock  which  lacked  a  few  minutes 
yet  of  the  time  fixed  for  the  meeting,  slided  hastily  away 
from  Bertram's  detaining  hand,  and  disappeared  in  the 
crowd  without.  In  another  moment  Bertram  saw  him 
standing  at  the  outer  door,  looking  anxiously  up  and  down 
the  street. 

"  Something  is  wrong,"  murmured  Bertram.  "What?" 
And  for  a  moment  he  felt  half  tempted  to  return  Mr.  Stuy- 
vesant's  friendly  bow  with  a  few  words  expressive  of  his  un- 
easiness, but  the  emphasis  with  which  Hopgood  had  mur- 
mured the  words,  "  Be  careful  what  you  say,"  unconsciously 


LIFE  AND   DEATH.  211 

deterred  him,  and  concealing  his  nervousness  as  best  he 
might,  he  entered  the  Directors'  office. 

It  was  now  time  for  the  meeting  to  open,  and  the  gentle- 
men were  all  seated  around  the  low  green  baize  table  that 
occupied  the  centre  of  the  room.  Impatience  was  written 
on  all  their  countenances.  Mr.  Stuyvesant  especially  was 
looking  at  the  heavy  gold  watch  in  his  hand,  with  a  frown 
on  his  deeply  wrinkled  brow  that  did  not  add  to  its  expres- 
sion of  benevolence.  The  empty  seat  at  the  head  of  the 
table  stared  upon  Bertram  uncompromisingly. 

"  My  wife  gives  a  reception  to-day,"  ventured  one  gen- 
tleman to  his  neighbor. 

"And  I  have  an  engagement  at  five  that  won't  bear  post- 
ponement." 

"  Sylvester  has  always  been  on  hand  before." 

"We  can't  proceed  without  him,"  was  the  reply. 

Mr.  Wheelock  looked  thoughtful. 

With  a  nod  of  his  head  towards  such  gentlemen  as  met 
his  eye,  Bertram  hastened  to  a  little  cupboard  devoted  to 
the  use  of  himself  and  uncle.  Opening  it,  he  looked  within, 
took  down  a  coat  he  saw  hanging  before  him,  and  uncon- 
sciously uttered  an  exclamation.  It  was  a  dress-coat  such 
as  had  been  worn  by  Mr.  Sylvester  the  evening  before. 

"  What  does  this  mean  !  My  uncle  has  been  here  !  " 
were  the  words  that  sprang  to  his  lips;  but  he  subdued  his 
impulse  to  speak,  and  hastily  hanging  up  the  coat,  relocked 
the  door.  Proceeding  at  once  to  the  outer  room,  he  asked 
two  or  three  of  the  clerks  if  they  were  sure  Mr.  Sylvester  had 


212  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

not  been  in  during  the  day.  But  they  all  returned  an  un- 
equivocal "  no,"  and  that  too  with  a  certain  stare  of  surprise 
that  at  once  convinced  him  he  was  betraying  his  agitation 
too  plainly. 

"  I  will  telegraph  whether  Wheelock  considers  it  neces- 
sary or  not,"  thought  he,  and  was  moving  to  summon  a  mes- 
senger boy  when  he  caught  sight  of  Hopgood  slowly  making 
his  way  in  from  the  street.  He  was  very  pale  and  walked 
with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  ground,  ominously  shaking  his 
great  head  in  a  way  that  bespoke  an  inner  struggle  of  no  or- 
dinary nature.  Bertram  at  once  sauntered  out  to  meet  him. 

"  Hopgood,"  said  he,  "your  evident  anxiety  is  infectious. 
What  has  happened  to  make  my  uncle's  detention  a  matter 
of  such  apparent  import  ?  If  you  do  not  wish  to  confide  in 
me,  his  nephew  almost  his  son,  speak  to  Mr.  Wheelock  or  to 
one  of  the  directors,  but  dont  keep  anything  to  yourself 
which  concerns  his  welfare  or — What  are  you  looking  at  ?  " 

The  man  was  gazing  as  if  fascinated  at  the  keys  in  Ber- 
tram's hand. 

"  Nothing  sir,  nothing.  You  must  not  detain  me  ;  I  have 
nothing  to  say.  I  will  wait  ten  minutes,"  he  muttered  to 
himself,  glancing  again  at  the  clock.  Suddenly  he  saw  the 
various  directors  come  filing  out  of  the  inner  room,  and 
darted  for  the  second  time  from  Bertram's  detaining  hand. 

"  I  hope  nothing  has  happened  to  Mr.  Sylvester,"  ex- 
claimed one  gentleman  to  another  as  they  filed  by. 

"  If  he  were  given  to  a  loose  ends'  sort  of  business  it 
would  be  another  thing." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  21$ 

"  He  looked  exceedingly  well  at  the  reception  last  night," 
exclaimed  another  ;  "  but  in  these  days — " 

Suddenly  there  was  a  hush.  A  telegraph  boy  had  just 
entered  the  door  and  was  asking  for  Mr.  Bertram  Sylvester. 

"  Here  I  am,"  said  Bertram,  hastily  taking  the  envelope 
presented  him.  Slightly  turning  his  back,  he  opened  it. 
Instantly  his  face  grew  white  as  chalk. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  you  will  have  to  excuse  my 
uncle  to-day  ;  a  great  misfortune  has  occurred  to  him."  Then 
with  a  slow  and  horror-stricken  movement,  he  looked  about 
him  and  exclaimed,  "  Mrs.  Sylvester  is  dead." 

A  confused  murmur  at  once  arose,  followed  by  a  hurried 
rush ;  but  of  all  the  faces  that  flocked  out  of  the  bank,  none 
wore  such  a  look  of  blank  and  helpless  astonishment  as  that 
of  Hopgood  the  janitor,  as  with  bulging  eyes  and  nervously 
working  hands,  he  slowly  wended  his  way  to  the  foot  of  the 
stairs  and  there  sat  down  gazing  into  vacancy. 


XX. 


THE    DREGS   IN    THE    CUP. 

"  O  eloquent,  just  and  mightie  death  !  whom  none  could  advise,  thou  hast  per- 
suaded ;  what  none  hath  dared,  thou  hast  done  ;  and  whom  all  the  world  hath  flat- 
tered, thou  only  hast  cast  out  of  the  world  and  despised  :  thou  hast  drawn  together 
all  the  farre  stretched  greatnesses  ;  all  the  pride,  crueltie  and  ambition  of  man  and 
covered  it  all  over  with  these  two  narrow  words,  Hicjacet." 

—SiR  WALTER  RALEIGH. 

BERTRAM'S  hurried  ring  at  his  uncle's  door  was  answered 
by  Samuel  the  butler. 

"  What  is  this  I  hear  ? "  cried  the  young  man,  entering 
with  considerable  agitation,  "  Mrs.  Sylvester  dead  ?  " 

"  Yes  sir,"  returned  the  old  and  trusty  servant,  with 
something  like  a  sob  in  his  voice.  "  She  went  out  riding 
this  morning  behind  a  pair  of  borrowed  horses — and  being 
unused  to  Michael's  way  of  driving,  they  ran  away  and  she 
was  thrown  from  the  carriage  and  instantly  killed." 

"  And  Miss  Fairchild  ? " 

"  She  didn't  go  with  her.     Mrs.  Sylvester  was  alone." 

"  Horrible,  horrible !  Where  is  my  uncle,  can  !•  see 
him  ?  " 

"  I  don't  know,  sir,"  the  man  returned  with  a  strange  look 
of  anxiety.  "  Mr.  Sylvester  is  feeling  very  bad,  sir.  He  has 
shut  himself  up  in  his  room  and  none  of  his  servants  dare 
disturb  him,  sir." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  21$ 

"  I  should,  however,  like  him  to  know  I  am  here.  In 
what  room  shall  I  find  him  ?  " 

"  In  the  little  one,  sir,  at  the  top  of  the  house.  It  has  a 
curious  lock  on  the  door ;  you  will  know  it  by  that." 

"  Very  well.  Please  be  in  the  hall  when  I  come  down  ; 
I  may  want  to  give  you  some  orders." 

The  old  servant  bowed  and  Bertram  hastened  with  hush- 
ed steps  to  ascend  the  stairs.  At  the  first  platform  he 
paused.  What  is  there  in  a  house  of  death,  of  sudden  death 
especially,  that  draws  a  veil  of  spectral  unreality  over  each 
familiar  object !  Behind  that  door  now  inexorably  closed 
before  him,  lay  without  doubt  the  shrouded  form  of  her  who 
but  a  few  short  hours  before,  had  dazzled  the  eyes  of  men 
and  made  envious  the  hearts  of  women  with  her  imposing 
beauty  !  No  such  quiet  then  reigned  over  the  spot  filled  by 
her  presence.  As  the  vision  of  a  dream  returns,  he  saw  her 
again  in  all  her  splendor.  Never  a  brow  in  all  the  great  hall 
shone  more  brightly  beneath  its  sparkling  diamonds ;  never  a 
lip  in  the  whole  vast  throng  curled  with  more  self-compla- 
cent pride,  or  melted  into  a  more  alluring  smile,  than  that  of 
her  who  now  lay  here,  a  marble  image  beneath  the  eye  of 
day.  It  was  as  if  a  flowery  field  had  split  beneath  the  danc- 
ing foot  of  some  laughing  siren.  One  moment  your  gaze  is 
upon  the  swaying  voluptuous  form,  the  half-shut  beguiling 
eye,  the  white  out-reaching  arms  upon  whose  satin  surface  a 
thousand  loves  seem  perching  ;  the  next  you  stare  horror- 
stricken  upon  the  closing  jaws  of  an  awful  pit,  with  the  flash 
of  something  bright  in  your  eyes,  and  the  sense  of  a  hideous 


2l6  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

noiseless  rush  in  which  earth  and  heaven  appear  to  join, 
sink  and  be  swallowed !  Bertram  felt  his  heart  grow  sick. 
Moving  on,  he  passed  the  bronze  image  of  Luxury  lying  half 
asleep  on  its  bed  of  crumpled  roses.  Hideous  mockery  ! 
What  has  luxury  to  do  with  death  ?  She  who  was  luxury 
itself  has  vanished  from  these  halls.  Shall  the  mute  bronze 
go  on  smiling  over  its  wine  cup  while  she  who  was  its  proto- 
type is  carried  by  without  a  smile  on  the  lips  once  so  ver- 
meil with  pride  and  tropical  languors  ! 

Arrived  at  the  top  of  the  house,  Bertram  knocked  at  the 
door  with  the  strange  lock,  and  uttering  his  own  name,  asked 
if  there  was  anything  he  could  do  here  or  elsewhere  to  show 
his  sympathy  and  desire  to  be  of  use  in  this  great  and  sud- 
den bereavemeat.  There  was  no  immediate  reply  and  he 
began  to  fear  he  would  be  obliged  to  retire  without  seeing 
his  uncle,  when  the  door  was  slowly  opened  and  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter came  out.  Instantly  Bertram  understood  the  anxiety  of 
the  servant.  Not  only  did.  Mr.  Sylvester's  countenance 
exhibit  the  usual  traces  of  grief  and  horror  incident  to  a 
sudden  and  awful  calamity,  but  there  were  visible  upon 
jt  the  tokens  of  another  and  still  more  unfathomable  emo- 
tion, a  wild  and  paralyzed  look  that  altered  the  very  con- 
tour of  his  features,  and  made  his  face  almost  like  that  of  a 
stranger. 

"  Uncle,  what  is  it  ?  "  sprang  involuntarily  to  his  lips. 
"  But  Mr.  Sylvester  betnying  by  a  sudden  backward  move- 
ment an  instinctive  desire  to  escape  scrutiny,  he  bethought 
himself,  and  with  hasty  utterance  offered  some  words  of 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  2 1/ 

consolation  that  sounded  strangely  hollow  and  superficial 
in  that  dim  and  silent  corridor.  "  Is  there  nothing  I  can 
do  for  you  ?  "  he  finally  asked. 

"  Everything  is  being  done,"  exclaimed  his  uncle  in  a 
strained  and  altered  voice ;  "  Robert  is  here."  And  a  si- 
lence fell  over  the  hall,  that  Bertram  dared  not  break. 

"I  have  help  for  everything  but — "  He  did  not  say 
what,  it  seemed  as  if  something  rose  up  in  his  throat  that 
choked  him. 

"  Bertram,"  said  he  at  last  in  a  more  natural  tone,  "  come 
with  me." 

He  led  him  into  an  adjoining  room  and  shut  the  door. 
It  was  a  room  from  which  the  sunshine  had  not  been  exclu- 
ded and  it  seemed  as  if  they  could  both  breathe  more  easily. 

"  Sit  down,"  said  his  uncle,  pointing  to  a  chair.  The 
young  man  did  so,  but  Mr.  Sylvester  remained  standing. 
Then  without  preamble,  "  Have  you  seen  her  ?  " 

There  was  no  grief  in  the  question,  only  a  quiet  respect. 
Death  clothes  the  most  volatile  with  a  garment  of  awe. 
Bertram  slowly  shook  his  head.  "  No,"  said  he,  "  I  came  at 
once  up  stairs." 

"  There  is  no  mark  on  her  white  body,  save  the  least 
little  discolored  dent  here,"  continued  his  uncle,  pointing 
calmly  to  his  temple.  "  She  had  one  moment  of  fear  while 
the  horses  ran,  and  then — '  He  gave  a  quick  shudder  and 
advancing  towards  Bertram,  laid  his  hand  on  his  nephew's 
shoulder  in  such  a  way  as  to  prevent  him  from  turning  his 
head.  "  Bertram,"  said  he,  "  I  have  no  son.  If  I  were  to 


218  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

call  upon  you  to  perform  a  son's  work  for  me  ;  to  obey  and 
ask  no  questions,  would  you  comply  ?  " 

"  Can  you  ask  ?  "  sprang  from  the  young  man's  lips ;  "  you 
know  that  you  have  only  to  command  for  m'e  to  be  proud 
to  obey.  Anything  you  can  require  will  find  me  ready." 

The  hand  on  his  shoulder  weighed  heavier.  "  It  seems 
a  strange  time  to  talk  about  business,  Bertram,  but  necessity 
knows  no  law.  There  is  a  matter  in  which  you  can  afford 
me  great  assistance  if  you  will  undertake  to  do  immediately 
what  I  ask." 

"  Can  you  doubt — " 

"  Hush,  it  is  this.  On  this  paper  you  will  find  a  name  ; 
below  it  a  number  of  addresses.  They  are  all  of  places 
down  town  and  some  of  them  not  very  reputable  I  fear. 
What  I  desire  is  for  you  to  seek  out  the  man  whose  name 
you  here  see,  going  to  these  very  places  after  him,  beginning 
with  the  first,  and  continuing  down  the  list  until  you  find 
him.  When  you  come  upon  him,  he  will  ask  you  for  a  card. 
Give  him  one  on  which  you  will  scrawl  before  his  eyes,  a 
circle,  so.  It  is  a  token  which  he  should  instantly  under- 
stand. If  he  does,  address  him  with  freedom  and  tell  him 

that  your  employer — you  need  make  use  of  no  names — re- 

% 
demands  the  papers  made  over  to  him  this  morning.     If  he 

manifests  surprise  or  is  seen  to  hesitate,  tell  him  your  orders 
are  imperative.  If  he  declares  ruin  will  follow,  inform  him 
that  you  are  not  to  be  frightened  by  words  ;  that  your  em- 
ployer is  as  fully  aware  of  the  position  of  affairs  as  he. 
Whatever  he  says,  bring  the  papers." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  2 If) 

Bertram  nodded  his  head  and  endeavored  to  rise,  but  his 
uncle's  hand  rested  upon  him  too  heavily. 

"  He  is  a  small  man  ;  you  need  have  no  dread  of  him 
physically.  The  sooner  you  find  him  and  acquit  yourself  of 
your  task,  the  better  I  shall-  be  pleased."  And  then  the 
hand  lifted. 

On  hrs  way  down  stairs  Bertram  encountered  Paula. 
She  was  standing  in  the  hall  and  accosted  him  with  a  very 
trembling  tone  in  her  voice.  All  her  questions  were  in 
regard  to  Mr.  Sylvester. 

"  Have  you  seen  him  ?  "  she  asked.  "  Does  he  speak — say 
anything  ?  No  one  has  heard  him  utter  a  word  since  he 
came  in  from  down  town  and  saw  her  lying  there." 

"Yes,  certainly  ;  he  spoke  to  me  ;  he  has  been  giving  me 
some  commissions  to  perform.  I  am  on  my  way  now  to 
attend  to  them." 

She  drew  a  deep  breath.  "  O  !  "  she  cried,  "  would  that 
he  had  a  son,  a  daughter,  a  child,  some  one  !  " 

This  exclamation  following  what  had  taken  place  above 
struck  Bertram  forcibly.  "  He  has  a  son  in  me,  Paula. 
Love  as  well  as  duty  binds  me  to  him.  All  that  a  child 
could  do  will  I  perform  with  pleasure.  You  can  trust  me 
for  that." 

She  threw  him  a  glance  of  searching  inquiry.  "  His 
need  is  greater  than  it  seems,"  whispered  she.  "  He  was 
deeply  troubled  before  this  terrible  accident  occurred.  I 
am  afraid  the  arrow  is  poisoned  that  has  made  this  dreadful 
wound.  I  cannot  explain  myself,"  she  went  on  hurriedly, 


22O  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  but  if  you  indeed  regard  him  as  a  father,  be  ready  with 
any  comfort,  any  help,  that  affection  can  bestow,  or  his 
necessities  require.  Let  me  feel  that  he  has  near  him  some 
stay  that  will  not  yield  to  pressure." 

There  was  so  much  passion  in  this  appeal  that  Bertram 
involuntarily  bowed  his  head.  "  He  has  two  friends,"  said 
he,  "and  here  is  my  hand  that  I  will  never  forsake  him." 

"  I  do  not  need  to  offer  mine,"  she  returned,  "  He  is 
great  and  good  enough  to  do  without  my  assistance."  But 
nevertheless  she  gave  her  hand  to  Bertram  and  with  a  glow 
of  her  lip  and  eye  that  made  her  beauty,  supreme  at  all  times, 
something  almost  supernatural  in  its  character. 

"  I  dared  not  tell  him,"  she  whispered  to  herself  as  the 
front  door  closed  with  the  dull  slow  thud  proper  to  a  house 
of  mourning.  "  I  dare  not  tell  any  one,  but — " 

What  lay  beyond  that  but  ? 

When  Mr.  Sylvester  came  in  at  six  o'clock  in  the  morn- 
ing, Paula  had  risen  from  the  bed  on  which  she  had  been 
sitting,  but  not  to  make  preparation  for  rest,  for  she  could 
not  rest.  The  vague  shadow  of  some  surrounding  evil  or 
threatened  catastrophe  was  upon  her,  and  though  she  forced 
herself  to  change  her  dress  for  a  warmer  and  more  suitable 
one,  she  did  not  otherwise  break  her  vigil,  though  the  neces- 
sity for  it  seemed  to  be  at  an  end.  It  was  a  midwinter 
morning  and  the  sun  had  not  yet  risen,  so  being  chilly  as 
well  as  restless,  she  began  to  pace  the  floor,  stopping  now 
and  then  to  glance  out  of  the  window,  in  the  hopes  of  detect- 
ing some  signs  of  awakening  day  in  the  blank  and  solemn 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  221 

east.  Suddenly  as  she  was  thus  consulting  the  horizon,  a 
light  flashed  up  from  below,  and  looking  down  upon  the  face 
of  the  extension  that  ran  along  at  right  angles  to  her  win- 
dow, she  perceived  that  the  shades  were  up  in  Mrs.  Sylves- 
ter's boudoir.  They  had  doubtless  been  left  so  the  evening 
before,  and  Mr.  Sylvester  upon  turning  up  the  gas  had  failed 
to  observe  the  fact.  Instantly  she  felt  her  heart  stand  still, 
for  the  house  being  wide  and  the  extension  narrow,  all  that 
went  on  in  that  boudoir,  or  at  least  in  that  portion  of  it 
which  Mr.  Sylvester  at  present  occupied,  was  easily  observa- 
ble from  the  window  at  which  she  stood  ;  and  that  some- 
thing was  going  on  of  a  serious  and  important  nature,  was 
sufficiently  evident  from  the  expression  of  Mr.  Sylvester's 
countenance.  He  was  standing  with  his  face  bent  towards 
some  one  seated  out  of  sight,  his  wife  undoubtedly,  though 
what  could  have  called  her  from  her  dreams — and  was  busily 
engaged  in  talking.  The  subject  whatever  it  was,  absorbed 
him  completely.  If  Paula  had  allowed  herself  the  thought, 
she  would  have  described  him  as  pleading  and  that  with  no 
ordinary  vehemence.  But  suddenly  while  she  gazed  half 
fascinated  and  but  little  realizing  what  she  was  doing,  he 
started  back  and  a  fierce  change  swept  over  his  face,  a  cer- 
tain incredulity,  that  presently  gave  way  to  a  glance  of 
horror  and  repugnance,  which  the  quick  action  of  his  out- 
thrown  palm  sufficiently  emphasized.  He  was  pushing 
something  from  him,  but  what  ?  A  suggestion  or  a  remem- 
brance ?  It  wasimpossible  to  determine. 

The  countenance  of  Mrs.  Sylvester  who  that  moment  ap- 


222  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

peared  in  sight  sailing  across  the  floor  in  her  azure  wrapper, 
offered  but  little  assistance  in  the  way  of  explanation.  Im- 
movable under  most  circumstances,  it  was  simply  at  this 
juncture  a  trifle  more  calm  and  cold  than  usual,  presenting 
to  Paula's  mind  the  thought  of  a  white  and  icy  barrier, 
against  which  the  most  glowing  of  arrows  must  fall  chilled 
and  powerless. 

"  O  for  a  woman's  soul  to  inform  that  breast  if  but  for  a 
moment  !  "  cried  Paula,  lost  in  the  passion  of  this  scene, 
while  so  little  understanding  its  import.  When  as  if  in 
mockery  to  this  invocation,  the  haughty  form  upon  which 
she  was  gazing  started  rigidly  erect,  while  the  lip  acquired  a 
scorn  and  the  eye  a  menace  that  betrayed  the  serpent  ever 
in  hiding  under  this  white  rose. 

Paula  could  look  no  longer.  This  last  revelation  had 
awakened  her  to  the  fact  that  she  was  gazing  upon  a  scene 
sacred  to  the  husband  and  wife  engaged  in  it.  With  a  sense 
of  shame  she  rushed  to  the  bed  and  threw  herself  upon  it, 
but  the  vision  of  what  she  had  beheld  would  not  leave  her 
so  easily.  Like  letters  of  fire  upon  a  black  ground,  the  pan- 
orama of  looks  and  gestures  to  which  she  had  just  been  wit- 
ness, floated  before  her  mind's  eye,  awakening  a  train  of 
thought  so  intense  that  she  did  not  know  which  was  worse, 
to  be  there  in  the  awful  dawn  dreaming  over  this  episode  of 
the  night,  or  to  rise  and  face  again  the  reality.  The  fascina- 
tion which  all  forbidden  sights  insensibly  exert  over  the 
minds  of  the  best  of  us,  finally  prevailed,  and  she  slowly 
crept  to  the  window  to  catch  a  parting  glimpse  of  Mr.  Syl- 


LIFE  AA7D   DEATH.  22$ 

vester's  tall  form  hurrying  blindly  from  the  boudoir  followed 
by  his  wife's  cold  glance.  The  next  minute  the  exposed 
condition  of  the  room  seemed  to  catch  that  lady's  attention, 
and  with  an  anxious  look  into  the  dull  gray  morn,  Mrs.  Syl- 
vester drew  down  the  shades,  and  the  episode  was  over. 

Or  so  Paula  thought ;  but  when  she  was  returning  up 
stairs  after  her  solitary  breakfast — Mrs.  Sylvester  was  too 
tired  and  Mr.  Sylvester  too  much  engaged  to  eat,  as  the  at- 
tentive Samuel  informed  her — the  door  of  Ona's  room  swung 
ajar,  and  she  distinctly  heard  her  give  utterance  to  the  fol- 
lowing exclamation  : 

"  What !  give  up  this  elegant  home,  my  horses  and  car- 
riage, the  friends  I  have  had  such  difficulty  in  obtaining,  and 
the  position  which  I  was  born  to  adorn  ?  I  had  rather  die  !  " 
And  Paula  feeling  as  if  she  had  received  the  key  to  the 
enigma  of  the  last  night's  unaccountable  manifestations,  was 
about  to  rush  a-vray  to  her  own  apartment,  when  the  door 
swayed  open  again  and  she  heard  his  voice  respond  with 
hard  and  bitter  emphasis, 

"  And  it  might  be  better  that  you  should.  But  since  you 
will  probably  live,  let  it  be  according  to  your  mind.  I  have 
not  the  courage — •" 

There  the  door  swung  to. 

An  hour  from  that  Mr.  Sylvester  left  the  house  with  a 
small  valise  in  his  hand,  and  Mrs.  Sylvester  dressed  in  her 
showiest  costume,  entered  her  carriage  for  an  early  shopping 
excursion. 

And  so  when  Paula  whispered  to  herself,  "  I  did  not  dare 


224  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

to  tell  him ;  I  did  not  dare  to  tell  any  one,  but — "  she  thought 
of  those  terrible  words,  "  Die?  It  might  be  better,  perhaps, 
that  you  should  !  "  and  then  remembered  the  ghastly  look  of 
immeasurable  horror  with  which  a  few  hours  later,  he  stag- 
gered away  from  that  awful  burden,  whose  rigid  lines  would 
never  again  melt  into  mocking  curves,  and  to  whom  the 
morning's  wide  soaring  hopes,  high  reaching  ambitions  and 
boundless  luxuries  were  now  no  more  than  the  shadows  of  a 
vanished  world;  life,  love,  longing,  with  all  their  demands, 
having  dwindled  to  a  noisome  rest  between  four  close 
planks,  with  darkness  for  its  present  portion  and  beyond 
— what  ? 


XXI. 

DEPARTURE. 

"  Forever  and  forever,  farewell  Cassius. 
If  we  do  meet  again,  why  we  shall  smile  ; 
If  not,  why  then,  this  parting  was  well  made." 

—JULIUS 

SAMUEL  had  received  his  orders  to  admit  Mr.  Bertram 
Sylvester  to  his  uncle's  room,  at  whatever  hour  of  the  day  or 
night  he  chose  to  make  his  appearance.  But  evening  wore 
away  and  finally  the  night,  before  his  well-known  face  was 
seen  at  the  door.  Proceeding  at  once  to  the  apartment  oc- 
cupied by  Mr.  Sylvester,  he  anxiously  knocked.  The  door 
was  opened  immediately. 

"  Ah,  Bertram,  I  have  been  expecting  you  all  night." 
And  from  the  haggard  appearance  of  both  men,  it  was  evi- 
dent that  neither  of  them  had  slept. 

"  I  have  sat  down  but  twice  since  I  left  you,  and  then 
only  in  conveyances.  I  have  been  obliged  to  go  to  Brooklyn, 
to—" 

"  But  you  have  found  him  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  found  him." 

His  uncle  glanced  inquiringly  at  his  hands;  they  were 
empty. 

"  I  shall  have  to  sit  down,"  said  Bertram ;  his  brow  was 


226  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

very  gloomy,  his  words  came  hesitatingly.  "I  had  rather 
have  knocked  my  head  against  the  wall,  than  have  disap- 
pointed you,"  he  murmured  after  a  moment's  pause.  "  But 
when  I  did  find  him,  it  was  too  late." 

"  Too  late  !  "  The  tone  in  which  this  simple  phrase  was 
uttered  was  indescribable.  Bertram  slowly  nodded  his  head. 

"  He  had  already  disposed  of  all  the  papers,  and  favora- 
bly," he  said. 

"  But—" 

"  And  not  only  that,"  pursued  Bertram.  "  He  had  is- 
sued orders  by  telegraph,  that  it  was  impossible  to  counter- 
mand. It  was  at  the  Forty  Second  Street  depot  I  found  him 
at  last.  He  was  just  on  the  point  of  starting  for  the  west." 

"  And  has  he  gone  ?  " 

"  Yes  sir." 

Mr.  Sylvester  walked  slowly  to  the  window.  It  was  rain- 
ing drearily  without,  but  he  did  not  notice  the  falling  drops 
or  raise  his  eyes  to  the  leaden  skies. 

"  Did  you  meet  any  one  ?  "  he  asked  at  length.  "  Any 
one  that  you  know,  I  mean,  or  who  knows  you  ?  " 

"  No  one  but  Mr.  Stuyvesant." 

"  Mr.  Stuyvesant  !  " 

"  Yes  sir,"  returned  Bertram,  dropping  his  eyes  before 
his  uncle's  astonished  glance.  "  I  was  coming  out  of  a 
house  in  Broad  Street  when  he  passed  by  and  saw  me,  or  at 
least  I  believed  he  saw  me.  There  is  no  mistaking  him,  sir, 
for  any  one  else ;  besides  it  is  a  custom  of  his  I  am  told,  to 
saunter  through  the  down  town  streets  after  the  warehouses 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  22/ 

are  all  closed  for  the  night.  He  enjoys  the  quiet  I  suppose, 
finds  food  for  reflection  in  the  sleeping  aspect  of  our  great 
city."  There  was  gloom  in  Bertram's  tone  ;  his  uncle  looked 
at  him  curiously. 

"What  house  was  it  from  which  you  were  coming  when 
he  passed  you  ?  " 

"  A  building  where  Tueller  and  Co.  do  business,  shady 
operators  in  paper,  as  you  know." 

"  And  you  believed  he  recognized  you  ?  " 

"  I  cannot  be  sure,  sir.  It  was  dark,  but  I  thought  I 
saw  him  look  at  me  and  give  a  slight  start." 

Ah,  how  desolate  sounds  the  drip,  drip  of  a  ceaseless  rain, 
when  conversation  languishes  and  the  ear  has  time  to  listen  ! 

"  I  will  explain  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant  when  I  see  him,  that 
you  were  in  search  of  a  man  with  whom  I  had  pressing  busi- 
ness," observed  Mr.  Sylvester  at  last. 

"No,"  murmured  Bertram  with  effort,  "  it  might  empha- 
size the  occurrence  in  his  mind  ;  let  the  matter  drop  where 
it  is." 

There  was  another  silence,  during  which  the  drip  of  the 
rain  on  the  window-ledge  struck  on  the  young  man's  ears  like 
the  premonitory  thud  of  falling  earth  upon  a  coffin-lid.  At 
length  his  uncle  turned  and  advanced  rapidly  towards  him. 

"  Bertram,"  said  he,  "  you  have  done  me  a  favor  for 
which  I  thank  you.  What  you  have  learned  in  the  course  of 
its  accomplishment  I  cannot  tell.  Enough  perhaps  to  make 
you  understand  why  I  warned  you  from  the  dangerous  path 
of  speculation,  and  set  your  feet  in  a  way  that  if  adhered  to 


228  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

with  steadfast  purpose,  ought  to  lead  you  at  last  to  a  safe 
and  honorable  prosperity.  Now — No,  Bertram,"  he  bitterly 
interrupted  himself  as  the  other  opened  his  lips,  "  I  am  in 
need  of  no  especial  commiseration,  my  affairs  seem  bound  to 
prosper  whether  I  will  or  not — now  I  have  one  more  com- 
mission to  give  you.  Miss  Fairchild — "  his  voice  quavered 
and  he  leaned  heavily  on  "the  chair  near  which  he  was  stand- 
ing. "  Have  you  seen  her,  Bertram  ?  Is  the  poor  child 
quite  prostrated?  Has  this  frightful  occurrence  made  her 
ill,  or  does  she  bear  up  with  fortitude  under  the  shock  of 
this  sudden  calamity  ?" 

"  She  is  not  ill,  but  her  suffering  is  undoubted.  If  you 
could  see  her  and  say  a  few  words  to  relieve  her  anxiety  in 
regard  to  yourself,  I  think  it  would  greatly  comfort  her. 
Her  main  thought  seems  to  be  for  you,  sir." 

Mr.  Sylvester  frowned,  raised  his  hand  with  a  repelling 
gesture,  and  hastily  opened  his  lips.  Bertram  thought  he 
was  about  to  utter  some  passionate  phrase.  But  instead  of 
that  he  merely  remarked,  "  I  am  sorry  I  cannot  see  her,  but 
it  is  quite  impossible.  You  must  stand  between  me  and  this 
poor  child,  Bertram.  Tell  her  I  send  her  my  love  ;  tell  her 
that  I  am  quite  well ;  anything  to  solace  her  and  make  these 
dark  days  less  dreary.  If  she  wants  a  friend  with  her,  let  a 
messenger  be  sent  for  whomever  she  desires.  I  place  no  re- 
strictions upon  anything  you  choose  to  do  for  her  comfort 
or  happiness,  but  let  me  be  spared  the  sight  of  any  other 
face  than  yours  until  this  is  all  over.  After  the  funeral — it 
may  sound  ungracious,  but  I  am  far  from  feeling  so — I  shall 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  22$ 

wish  to  be  left  alone  for  awhile.  If  she  can  be  made  to 
understand  this — " 

"  I  think  her  instincts,  sir,  have  already  led  her  to  divine 
your  wishes.  If  I  am  not  mistaken,  she  is  even  now  making 
preparations  to  return  to  her  relatives." 

Mr.  Sylvester  gave  a  start.  "  What,  so  soon  !  "  he  mur- 
mured, and  the  sadness  of  his  tone  smote  Bertram  to  the 
heart.  But  in  another  moment  he  recovered  himself  and 
shortly  exclaimed,  "  Well !  well !  that  is  as  it  should  be. 
You  will  watch  over  her  Bertram,  and  see  that  she  is  kindly 
cared  for.  It  would  be  a  grief  to  me  to  have  her  go  away 
with  any  more  than  the  necessary  regret  at  losing  one  who 
was  always  kind  to  her" 

"  I  will  look  after  her  as  after  a  sister,"  returned  Bertram. 
"  She  shall  miss  no  attention  which  I  can  supply." 

With  a  look  Mr.  Sylvester  expressed  his  thanks.  Then 
while  Bertram  again  attempted  to  speak,  he  gave  him  a  cor- 
dial pressure  of  the  hand,  and  withdrew  once  more  to  his 
favorite  spot. 

And  the  rain  beat,  beat,  and  it  sounded  more  and  more 
like  the  droppings  of  earth  upon  a  nailed  down  coffin-lid. 

The  funeral  was  a  large  one.  The  largest  some  said  that 
had  ever  been  seen  in  that  quarter  of  the  city.  If  Mrs.  Syl- 
vester's position  had  not  been  what  it  was,  the  sudden  and 
awful  nature  of  her  death,  would  have  been  sufficient  to  draw 
together  a  large  crowd.  Among  those  who  thus  endeavored 
to  show  their  respect  was  Miss  Stuyvesant. 


230  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  I  could  not  join  you  here  in  your  pleasures,"  she  whis- 
pered to  Paula  in  the  short  interview  they  had  upstairs,  pre- 
paratory to  the  services,  "  but  I  cannot  keep  away  in  the 
dark  hours !  "  And  from  her  look  and  the  clasp  of  her 
hand,  Paula  gained  fresh  courage  to  endure  the  slow  pressure 
of  anxiety  and  grief  with  which  she  was  secretly  burdened. 

Moreover  she  had  the  pleasure  of  introducing  her  be- 
loved friend  to  Mr.  Bertram  Sylvester,  a  pleasure  which  she 
had  long  promised  herself  whenever  the  opportunity  should 
arrive,  as  Miss  Stuyvesant  was  somewhat  of  an  enthusiast  as 
regards  music.  She  did  not  notice  particularly  then,  but 
she  remembered  afterwards,  with  what  a  blushing  cheek  and 
beautiful  glance  the  dainty  young  girl  received  his  bow,  and 
responded  to  his  few  respectful  words  of  pleasure  at  meet- 
ing the  daughter  of  a  man  whom  he  had  learned  to  regard 
with  so  much  respect. 

Mr.  Sylvester  was  in  a  room  by  himself.  The  few 
glimpses  obtained  of  him  by  his  friends,  convinced  them  all, 
that  this  trouble  touched  him  more  deeply  than  those  who 
knew  his  wife  intimately  could  have  supposed.  Yet  he  was 
calm,  and  already  wore  that  fixed  look  of  rigidity  which  was 
henceforth  to  distinguish  the  expression  of  his  fine  and 
noble  features. 

In  the  ride  to  Greenwood  he  spoke  little.  Paula  who  sat 
in  the  carriage  with  him  did  not  receive  a  word,  though  now 
and  then  his  eye  wandered  towards  her  with  an  expression 
that  drove  the  blood  to  her  heart,  and  made  the  whole  day 
one  awful  memory  of  incomprehensible  agony  and  dim  but 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  231 

terrible  forebodings.  The  ways  of  the  human  soul,  in  its 
crises  of  grief  or  remorse  were  so  new  to  her.  She  had 
passed  her  life  beside  rippling  streams  and  in  peaceful  mea- 
dows, and  now  all  at  once,  with  shadow  on  shadow,  the  dark 
pictures  of  life  settled  down  before  her,  and  she  could  not 
walk  without  stumbling  upon  jagged  rocks,  deep  yawning 
chasms  and  caves  of  impenetrable  gloom. 

The  sight  of  the  grave  appalled  her.  To  lay  in  such  a 
bed  as  that,  the  fair  and  delicate  head  that  had  often  found 
the  downy  pillows  of  its  azure  couch  too  hard  for  its  lan- 
guid pressure.  To  hide  in  such  a  dismal,  deep,  dark  gap,  a 
form  so  white  and  but  a  little  while  before,  so  imposing  in 
its  splendor  and  so  commanding  in  its  requirements.  The 
thought  of  heaven  brought  no  comfort.  The  beauty  they 
had  known  lay  here ;  soulless,  inert,  rigid  and  responseless, 
but  here.  It  was  gifted  with  no  wings  with  which  to  rise. 
It  owned  no  attachment  to  higher  spheres.  Death  had 
scattered  the  leaves  of  this  white  rose,  but  from  all  the 
boundless  mirror  of  the  outspread  heavens,  no  recovered 
semblance  of  its  perfected  beauty,  looked  forth  to  solace 
Paula  or  assuage  the  misery  of  her  glance  into  this  gloomy 
pit.  Ah,  Ona,  the  social  ladder  reaches  high,  but  it  does  not 
scale  the  regions  where  your  poor  soul  could  find  comfort 
now. 

Bertram  saw  the  white  look  on  Paula's  face  and  silently 
offered  his  arm.  But  there  are  moments  when  no  mortal 
help  can  aid  us;  instants  when  the  soul  stands  as  solitary  in 
the  universe,  as  the  ship-wrecked  mariner  on  a  narrow  strip 


232  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

of  rock  in  a  boundless  sea.  Life  may  touch,  but  eternity 
enfolds  us;  we  are  single  before  God  and  as  such  must 
stand  or  fall. 

Upon  their  return  to  the  house,  Mr.  Sylvester  withdrew 
with  a  few  intimate  friends  to  his  room,  and  Paula,  lonely 
beyond  expression,  went  to  her  own  empty  apartment  to 
finish  packing  her  trunks  and  answer  such  notes  as  had 
arrived  during  her  absence.  For  attention  from  outsiders 
was  only  too  obtrusive.  Many  whom  she  had  never  met 
save  in  the  most  formal  intercourse,  flooded  her  now  with 
expressions  of  condolence,  which  if  they  had  not  been  all 
upon  one  pattern  and  that  the  most  conventional,  might 
have  afforded  her  some  relief.  Two  or  three  of  the  notes 
were  precious  to  her  and  these  she  stowed  safely  away,  one 
contained  a  deliberate  offer  of  marriage  from  a  wealthy  old 
stock-broker  ;  this  she  as  deliberately  burned  after  she  had 
written  a  proper  refusal.  "  He  thinks  I  have  no  home,"  she 
murmured. 

And  had  she  ?  As  she  paced  through  the  silent  halls 
and  elaborately  furnished  rooms  on  her  way  to  her  solitary 
dinner,  she  asked  herself  if  any  place  would  ever  seem  like 
home  after  this.  Not  that  she  was  infatuated  by  its  ele- 
gance. The  lofty  walls  might  dwindle,  the  gorgeous  furni- 
ture grow  dim,  the  works  of  beauty  disappear,  the  whole 
towering  structure  contract  to  the  dimensions  of  a  simple 
cottage  or  what  was  worse,  a  seedy  down-town  house,  if  only 
the  something  would  remain,  the  something  that  made  return 
to  Grotewell  seem  like  the  bending  back  of  a  towering  stalk 


LIFE  AND  DEATH,  233 

to  the  ground  from  which  it  had  taken  its  root.  "  If?  "  she 
cried — and  stopped  there,  her  heart  swelling  she  knew  not 
why.  Then  again,  "  I  thought  I  had  found  a  father ! " 
Then  after  a  longer  pause,  a  wild  uncontrollable  ;  "  Bless  ! 
bless !  bless  ! "  which  seemed  to  re-echo  in  the  room  long 
after  her  lingering  step  had  left  it. 

"  Will  he  let  me  go  without  a  word  ? " 

It  was  early  morning  and  the  time  had  come  for  Paula's 
departure.  She  was  standing  on  the  threshold  of  her  room, 
her  hands  clasped,  her  eyes  roving  up  and  down  the  empty 
halls.  "  Will  he  let  me  go  without  a  word  ? " 

u  O  Miss  Paula,  what  do  you  think  ?  "  cried  Sarah,  creep- 
ing slowly  towards  her  from  the  spectral  recesses  of  a  dim 
corner.  "  Jane  says  Mr.  Sylvester  was  up  all  last  night  too. 
She  heard  him  go  down  stairs  about  midnight  and  he  went 
through  all  the  rooms  like  a  gliding  spectre  and  into  her 
room  too!  "  she  fearfully  whispered ;  "and  what  he  did  there 
no  one  knows,  but  when  he  came  out  he  locked  the  door, 
and  this  morning  the  cook  heard  him  give  orders  to  Samuel 
to  have  the  trunks  that  were  ready  in  Mrs.  Sylvester's  room 
taken  away.  O  Miss,  do  you  think  he  can  be  going  to  give 
all  those  beautiful  things  to  you  ?  " 

Paula  recoiled  in  horror.  "  Sarah  1 "  said  she,  and  could 
say  no  more.  The  vision  of  that  tall  form  gliding  through 
the  desolate  house  at  midnight,  bending  over  the  soulless 
finery  of  his  dead  wife,  perhaps  stowing  it  away  in  boxes, 
came  with  too  powerful  a  suggestion  to  her  mind. 


234  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Shure,  I  thought  you  would  be  pleased,"  murmured  the 
girl  and  disappeared  again  into  one  of  the  dim  recesses. 
"  Will  he  let  me  go  without  a  word  ?  " 
"  Miss  Paula,  Mr.  Bertram   Sylvester  is  waiting  at  the 
door  in  a  carriage,"  came  in  low  respectful  tones  to  her 
ears,  and  Samuel's  face  full  of  regret  appeared  at  the  top  of 
the  stairs. 

"  I  am  coming,"  murmured  the  sad-hearted  girl,  and  with 
a  sob  which  she  could  not  control,  she  took  her  last  look  of 
the  pretty  pink  chamber  in  which  she  had  dreamed  so  many 
dreams  of  youthful  delight,  and  perhaps  of  youthful  sorrow 
also,  and  slowly  descended  the  stairs.  Suddenly  as  she  was 
passing  a  door  on  the  second  floor,  she  heard  a  low  deep 
cry. 

"  Paula  !  " 

She  stopped  and  her  hand  went  to  her  heart,  the  reaction 
was  so  sudden.  "  Yes,"  she  murmured,  standing  still  with 
great  heart-beats  of  joy,  or  was  it  pain  ? 

The  door  slowly  opened.  "Did  you  think  I  could  let 
you  go  without  a  blessing,  my  Paula,  my  little  one  !  "  came 
in  those  deep  heart-tones  which  always  made  her  tears  start. 
And  Mr.  Sylvester  stepped  out  of  the  shadows  beyond  and 
stood  in  the  shadows  at  her  side. 

"I  did  not  know,"  she  murmured.  "I  am  so  young,  so 
feeble,  such  a  mote  in  this  great  atmosphere  of  anguish.  I 
longed  to  see  you,  to  say  good-bye,  to  thank  you,  but — " 
tears  stopped  her  words  ;  this  was  a  parting  that  rent  her 
tender  heart. 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  235 

Mr.  Sylvester  watched  her  and  his  deep  chest  rose  spas- 
modically. "  Paula,"  said  he,  and  there  was  a  depth  in  his 
tone  even  she  had  never  heard  before,  "  are  these  tears 
for  me  ? " 

With  a  strong  effort  she  controlled  herself,  looked  up 
and  faintly  smiled.  "  I  am  an  orphan,"  she  gently  mur- 
mured; "you  have  been  kind  and  tender  to  me  beyond 
words ;  I  have  let  myself  love  you  as  a  father." 

A  spasm  crossed  his  features,  the  hand  he  had  lifted 
to  lay  upon  her  head  fell  at  his  side,  he  surveyed  her  with 
eyes  whose  despairing  fondness  told  her  that  her  love  had 
been  more  than  met  by  this  desolate  childless  man.  But 
he  did  not  reply  as  seemed  natural,  "  Be  to  me  then  as 
a  child.  I  can  offer  you  no  mother  to  guide  or  watch  over 
you,  but  one  parent  is  better  than  none.  Henceforth  you 
shall  be  known  as  my  daughter."  Instead  of  that  he  shook 
his  head  mournfully,  yearningly  but  irrevocably,  and  said, 
"  To  be  your  father  would  have  been  a  dear  position  to 
occupy.  I  have  sometimes  hoped  that  I  might  be  so  blessed 
as  to  call  it  mine,  but  that  is  all  past  now.  Your  father  I 
can  never  be.  But  I  can  bless  you,"  he  murmured  brokenly, 
"  not  as  I  did  that  day  in  your  aunt's  little  cottage,  but  si- 
lently and  from  afar  as  God  always  meant  you  should  be 
blessed  by  me.  Good-bye,  Paula." 

Then  all  the  deeps  in  her  great  nature  broke  up.  She. 
did  not  weep,  but  she  looked  at  him  with  her  large  dark 
eyes  and  the  cry  in  them  smote  his  heart.  With  a  struggle 
that  blanched  his  face,  he  kept  his  arms  at  his  side,  but 


236  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

his  lips  worked  in  agony,  and  he  slowly  murmured,  "  If 
after  a  time  your  heart  loves  me  like  this,  and  you  are  will- 
ing to  bear  shadow  as  well  as  sunshine  with  me,  come  back 
with  your  aunt  and  sit  at  my  hearthstone,  not  as  my  child 
but  as  a  dear  and  honored  guest.  I  will  try  and  be  worthy 
— "  He  paused,  "  Will  you  come,  Paula  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes." 

"  Not  soon,  not  now,"  he  murmured,  "God  will  show  you 
when." 

And  with  nothing  but  a  look,  without  having  touched 
her  or  so  much  as  brushed  her  garments  with  his,  he  retired 
again  into  his  room. 


XXII. 

HOPGOOD. 
"  Give  it  an  understanding  but  no  tongue." 


—HAMLET. 


HOPGOOD  was  a  man  who  could  keep  a  secret,  but  who 
made  so  much  ado  in  the  process  that  he  reminded  one  of 
the  placard  found  posted  up  somewhere  out  west  which 
reads,  "  A  treasure  of  gold  concealed  here  ;  don't  dig  !  "  Or 
so  his  wife  used  to  say,  and  she  ought  to  know,  for  she  had 
lived  with  him  five  years,  three  of  which  he  had  spent  in  the 
detective  service. 

"  If  he  would  only  trust  the  wife  of  his  bosom  with  what- 
ever he's  got  on  his  mind,  instead  of  ambling  around  the 
building  with  his  eyes  rolling  about  like  peas  in  a  caldron  of 
boiling  water,  one  might  manage  to  take  some  comfort  in  life, 
and  not  hurt  anybody  either.  For  two  days  now,  ever  since 
the  wife  of  Mr.  Sylvester  died  and  Mr.  Sylvester  has  been 
away  from  the  bank,  he's  acted  just  like  a  lunatic.  Not  that 
that  has  anything  to  do  with  his  gettin  up  of  nights  and 
roamin  down  five  pair  of  stairs  to  see  if  the  watchman  is 
up  to  his  duty,  or  with  his  askin  a  dozen  times  a  day  if  I 
remembers  how  Mr.  Sylvester  found  him  and  me,  well  nigh 
starvin  in  Broad  Street,  and  gave  him  the  good  word  which 
got  him  into  this  place  ?  O  no  !  O  no,  of  course  not  !  But 


238  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

something  has,  and  while  he  persists  in  shutting  out  from  his 
breast  the  woman  he  swore  to  love,  honor,  and  cherish,  that 
woman  is  not  bound  to  bear  the  trials  of  life  with  patience. 
Every  time  he  jumps  out  of  his  chair  at  the  sound  of  Mr. 
Sylvester's  name,  and  some  one  is  always  mentionin'  it,  I 
plumps  me  down  on  mine  with  an  expression  of  my  views 
regarding  a  kitchen  stove  that  does  all  its  drawin'  when  the 
oven's  empty." 

So  spake  Mrs.  Hopgood  to  her  special  crony  and  con- 
stant visitor,  Mrs.  Kirkshaw  of  Water  Street,  pursing  up  a 
mouth  that  might  have  been  good-natured  if  she  had  ever 
.given  it  an  opportunity.  But  Mrs.  Kirkshaw  who  passed  for 
a  gossip  with  her  neighbors,  was  a  philosopher  in  the  retire- 
ment of  the  domestic  circle  and  did  not  believe  in  the  blow 
for  blow  system. 

"La!  "  quoth  she,  with  a  smoothing  out  of  her  apron 
suggestive  of  her  employment  as  laundress,  "  show  a  dog  that 
you  want  his  bone  and  you'll  never  get  it.  Husbands  is  like 
that  very  stove  you've  been  a  slanderin  of.  Rattle  on  coal 
when  the  fire's  low  and  you  put  it  out  entirely ;  but  be  a  bit 
patient  and  drop  it  on  piece  by  piece,  coaxing-like,  and 
you'll  have  a  hot  stove  afore  you  know  it." 

Which  suggestion  struck  Mrs.  Hopgood  like  a  revelation, 
and  for  a  day  and  night  she  resorted  to  the  coaxing  system ; 
the  result  of  which  was  to  send  Mr.  Hopgood  out  of  the 
room  to  sit  on  the  stairs  in  mortal  terror,  lest  his  good 
nature  should  get  the  better  of  his  discretion.  His  little 
daughter,  Constantia  Maria — so  named  and  so  called  from 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  239 

two  grandmothers,  equally  exacting  in  their  claims  and 
equally  impecunious  as  regards  their  resources — was  his  sole 
solace  in  this  long  vigil.  Her  pretty  innocent  prattle  scarcely 
disturbed  his  meditation,  while  it  soothed  his  nerves,  and 
with  no  one  by  but  this  unsuspecting  child,  he  could  roll  his 
great  eyes  to  his  heart's  content  without  fear  of  her  descry- 
ing anything  in  them,  but  the  love  with  which  her  own  little 
heart  abounded. 

On  the  morning  after  the  funeral,  however,  Constantia 
Maria  was  restored  to  his  wife's  arms  on  the  plea  that  she 
did  not  seem  quite  well,  and  Hopgood  went  out  and  sat 
alone.  In  a  few  minutes,  however,  he  returned,  and 
ambling  restlessly  up  and  down  the  room,  stopped  be- 
fore his  persistently  smiling  wife  and  said  somewhat  tremu- 
lously : 

"  If  Mr.  Sylvester  takes  a  notion  to  come  up  and  see 
Constantia  Maria  to-day,  I  hope  you'll  take  the  opportunity 
to  finish  your  ironing  or  whatever  else  it  is  you  may  have  to 
do.  I've  noticed  he  seems  a  little  shy  with  the  child  when 
you  are  around." 

"  Shy  with  the  child  when  I  am  around  !  well  I  do  de- 
clare !  "  exclaimed  she,  forgetting  her  late  role  in  her  some- 
what natural  indignation.  "  And  what  have  I  ever  done  to 
frighten  Mr.  Sylvester  ?  Nothing  but  putting  on  of  a  clean 
apron,  when  he  comes  in  and  a  dustin'  of  the  best  chair  for 
his  use.  It's  a  trick  of  yours  to  get  a  chance  of  speakin' 
to  him  alone,  and  I'll  not  put  up  with  it.  As  if  it  wasn't 
bad  enough  to  have  a  kettle  with  the  nozzle  dangling,  with- 


240  .  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

out  living  with  a  man  who  has  a  secret  he  won't  share  witn 
his  own  wife  and  the  mother  of  his  innocent  babe." 

With  a  start  the  worthy  man  stared  at  her  till  he  grew 
red  in  the  face,  probably  with  the  effort  of  keeping  his  eyes 
steady  for  so  long  a  time.  "  Who  told  you  I  had  a  secret  ?  " 
said  he. 

"  Who  told  me  ?"  and  then  she  laughed,  though  in  a  some- 
what hysterical  way,  and  sat  down  in  the  middle  of  the  floor 
and  shook  and  shook  again.  "  Hear  the  man  !  "  she  cried. 
And  she  told  him  the  story  of  the  placard  out  west  and  then 
asked  him,  "  if  he  thought  she  didn't  remember  how  he  used 
to  act  when  he  was  a  chasin'  up  of  a  thief  in  the  days  when 
he  was  on  the  police  force." 

"  But,"  he  cried,  quite  as  pale  now  as  he  had  been  florid 
the  moment  before,  "  I'm  not  in  the  police  force  now  and 
you  are  acting  quite  silly  and  I've  no  patience  with  you." 
And  he  was  making  for  the  door,  presumably  to  sit  upon  the 
stairs,  when  with  a  late  repentance  she  seized  him  by  the  arm 
and  said  : 

"  La  now,"  an  expression  she  had  caught  from  Mrs.  Kirk- 
shaw,  "  I  didn't  mean  nothin'  by  my  talk.  Come  back,  John  ; 
Constantia  Maria  is  not  well,  and  if  Mr.  Sylvester  comes  up 
to  see  her,  I'll  just  slip  out  and  leave  you  alone." 

And  upon  that  he  told  her  she  was  a  good  wife  and 
that  if  he  had  any  secret  from  her  it  was  only  because  he 
was  a  poor  man.  "  Honesty  and  prudence  are  all  the  treas- 
ures I  possess  to  keep  us  three  from  starving.  Shall  I  part 
with  either  of  them  just  to  satisfy  your  curiosity  ?  "  and  be- 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  241 

ing  a  good  woman  at  heart,  she  said  "  no,"  though  she  se- 
cretly concluded  that  prudence  in  his  case  involved  trust  in 
one's  wife  first,  and  disbelief  in  the  rest  of  the  world  after- 
ward ;  and  took  her  future  resolutions  accordingly. 

"Well,  Hopgood,  you  look  anxious;  do  you  want  to 
speak  to  me?  " 

The  janitor  eyed  the  changed  and  melancholy  face  of 
his  patron,  with  an  expression  in  which  real  sympathy  for  his 
trouble,  struggled  with  the  respectful  awe  which  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter's presence  was  calculated  to  inspire. 

"  If  you  please,"  said  he,  speaking  very  low,  for  more  or 
less  of  the  bank  employees  were  moving  busily  to  and  fro, 
"  Constantia  Maria  is  not  well  and  she  has  been  asking  all 
day  for  the  dear  man,  as  she  insists  upon  calling  you,  sir,  with 
many  apologies  for  the  freedom." 

Mr.  Sylvester  smiled  with  a  faint  far-away  look  in  his 
dark  eye  that  made  Hopgood  stare  uneasily  out  of  the  win- 
dow. "  Sick  !  why  then  I  must  go  up  and  see  her,"  he  re- 
turned in  a  matter-of-fact  way  that  proved  his  visits  in  that 
direction  were  of  no  uncommon  occurrence.  "  A  moment 
more  and  I  shall  be  at  liberty." 

Hopgood  bowed  and  renewed  his  stare  out  of  the  win- 
dow, with  an  intensity  happily  spared  from  serious  conse- 
quences to  the  passers-by,  by  the  merciful  celerity  with 
which  Mr.  Sylvester  procured  his  overcoat,  put  such  papers 
in  his  pocket  as  he  required,  and  joined  him. 

"  Constantia  Maria,  here  is  Mr.  Sylvester  come  to  see  you." 

It  was  a  pleasure  to  observe  how  the  little  thing  bright- 


242  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

& 

ened  in  her  mother's  arms,  where  but  a  moment  before  she 
had  lain  quite  pale  and  still,  and  slipping  to  the  ground 
rushed  up  to  meet  the  embrace  of  this  stern  and  melancholy- 
faced  man.  '*  I  am  so  glad  you  have  come,"  she  cried  over 
and  over  again  ;  and  her  little  arms  went  round  his  neck, 
and  her  soft  cheek  nestled  against  his,  with  a  content  that 
made  the  mother's  eyes  sparkle  with  pleasure,  as  obedient  to 
her  promise,  she  quietly  left  the  room. 

And  Mr.  Sylvester?  If  any  one  had  seen  the  abandon 
with  which  he  yielded  to  her  caresses  and  returned  them,  he 
would  have  understood  why  this  child  should  have  loved  him 
with  such  extraordinary  affection.  He  kissed  her  forehead, 
he  kissed  her  cheek,  and  seemed  never  weary  of  smoothing 
down  her  bright  and  silky  curls.  She  reminded  him  of  Ger- 
aldine.  She  had  the  same  blue  eyes  and  caressing  ways. 
From  the  day  he  had  come  upon  his  old  friend  Hopgood  in 
a  condition  of  necessity  almost  of  want,  this  blue-eyed  baby 
had  held  its  small  sceptre  over  his  lonely  heart,  and  unbe- 
known to  the  rest  of  the  world,  had  solaced  many  a  spare 
five  minutes  with  her  innocent  prattle.  The  Hopgoods 
understood  the  cause  of  his  predilection  and  were  silent.  It 
was  the  one  thing  Mrs.  Hopgood  never  alluded  to  in  her 
gossips  with  Mrs.  Kirkshaw.  But  to-day  the  attentions  of 
Mr.  Sylvester  to  the  little  one  seemed  to  make  the  janitor 
restless.  He  walked  up  and  down  the  narrow  room  uneasily 
surveying  the  pair  out  of  the  corner  of  his  great  glassy  eyes, 
till  even  Mr.  Sylvester  noticed  his  unusual  manner  and  put 
the  child  down,  observing  with  a  sigh, 


LIFE  AND  DEATH,  243 

"  You  think  she  is  not  well  enough  for  any  excitement  ?" 

"  No  sir,  it  is  not  that,"  returned  the  other  uneasily,  with 
a  hasty  look  around  him.  "  The  fact  is,  I  have  something  to 
say  to  you,  sir,  about — a  discovery — I  made  the  other  day." 
His  words  came  very  slowly,  and  he  looked  down  with  great 
embarrassment. 

Mr.  Sylvester  frowned  slightly,  and  drew  himself  up  to 
the  full  height  of  his  very  imposing  figure.  "  A  discovery," 
repeated  he,  "  when  ?  " 

"  The  day  you  paid  that  early  visit  to  the  bank,  sir,  the 
day  Mrs.  Sylvester  died." 

The  frown  on  Mr.  Sylvester's  brow  grew  deeper.  "  The 
day — "  he  began,  and  stopped. 

"  Excuse  me,  sir,"  exclaimed  Hopgood  with  a  burst.  "  I 
ought  not  to  have  mentioned  it.  but  you  asked  me  when,  and 
I—" 

"  What  was  this  discovery  ?  "  inquired  his  superior,  im- 
peratively. 

"  Nothing  much,"  murmured  the  other  now  all  in  a  cold 
sweat.  "  But  I  felt  as  if  I  ought  to  tell  you.  You  have  been 
my  benefactor,  sir,  I  can  never  forget  what  you  have  done 
for  me  and  mine.  If  I  saw  death  or  bereavement  between 
me  and  any  favor  I  could  do  for  you,  sir,  I  would  not  hesi- 
tate to  risk  them.  I  am  no  talker,  sir,  but  I  am  true  and  I 
am  grateful."  He  stopped,  choked,  and  his  eyes  rolled 
frightfully.  Mr.  Sylvester  looked  at  him,  grew  a  trifle  pale, 
and  put  the  little  child  away  that  was  nestling  up  against  his 
knee. 


244  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"You  have  not  told  me  what  you  have  discovered," 
said  he. 

"  Well,  sir,  only  this."  And  he  took  from  his  pocket  a 
small  roll  of  paper  which  he  unfolded  and  held  out  in  his 
hand.  It  contained  a  gold  tooth-pick  somewhat  bent  and 
distorted. 

A  flush  dark  and  ominous  crept  over  Mr.  Sylvester's 
cheek.  He  glanced  sternly  at  the  trembling  janitor,  and 
uttered  a  short,  "  Well  ?  " 

''  I  found  it  on  the  floor  of  the  bank  just  after  you  went 
out  the  other  morning,"  the  other  pursued  well-nigh  inaudi- 
bly.  "  It  was  lying  near  the  safe.  As  it  was  not  there  when 
you  went  in,  I  took  it  for  granted  it  was  yours.  Am  I  right, 
sir  ?" 

The  anxious  tone  in  which  this  last  question  was  uttered, 
the  studied  way  in  which  the  janitor  kept  his  eyes  upon  the 
floor  could  not  have  been  unnoticed  by  Mr.  Sylvester,  but 
he  simply  said, 

"  I  have  lost  mine,  that  may  very  possibly  be  it." 

The  janitor  held  it  towards  him  ;  his  eyes  did  not  leave 
the  floor.  "  The  responsibility  of  my  position  here  is  some 
times  felt  by  me  to  be  very  heavy,"  muttered  the  man  in  a 
low,  unmodulated  tone.  It  was  his  duty  in  those  days  pre- 
vious to  the  Manhattan  Bank  robbery,  to  open  the  vault  in 
the  morning,  procure  the  books  that  were  needed,  and  lay 
them  about  on  the  various  desks  in  readiness  for  the  clerks 
upon  their  arrival.  He  had  also  the  charge  of  the  boxes  of 
the  various  customers  of  the  bank  who  chose  to  entrust  their 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  24$ 

valuables  to  its  safe  keeping;  which  boxes  were  kept,  together 
with  the  books,  in  that  portion  of  the  vault  to  which  he  had 
access.  '  I  should  regret  my  comfortable  situation  here,  but 
if  it  was  necessary,  I  would  go  without  a  murmur,  trusting 
that  God  would  take  care  of  my  poor  little  lamb." 

"  Hopgood,  what  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Sylvester 
somewhat  sternly.  "  Who  talks  about  dismissing  you  ?  " 

"  No  one,"  responded  the  other,  turning  aside  to  attend 
to  some  trivial  matter.  "  But  if  ever  you  think  a  younger  or 
a  fresher  man  would  be  preferable  in  my  place,  do  not  hesi- 
tate to  make  the  change  your  own  necessities  or  that  of  the 
Bank  may  seem  to  require." 

Mr.  Sylvester's  eye  which  was  fixed  upon  the  janitor's 
face,  slowly  darkened. 

"  There  is  something  underlying  all  this,"  said  he,  "  what 
is  it  ?  " 

At  once  and  as  if  he  had  taken  his  resolution,  the  janitor 
turned.  "  I  beg  your  pardon,"  said  he,  "  I  ought  to  have  told 
you  in  the  first  place.  When  I  opened  the  vaults  as  usual  on 
the  morning  of  which  I  speak,  I  found  the  boxes  displaced; 
that  was  nothing  if  you  had  been  to  them,  sir  ;  but  what  did 
alarm  me  and  make  me  feel  as  if  I  had  held  my  position  too 
long  was  to  find  that  one  of  them  was  unlocked." 

Mr.  Sylvester  fell  back  a  step. 

''  It  was  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  box,  sir,  and  I  remember  dis- 
tinctly seeing  him  lock  it  the  previous  afternoon  before  put- 
ting it  back  on  the  shelf." 

The   arms  which  Mr.   Sylvester  had  crossed  upon  his 


246  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

breast  tightened  spasmodically.  "  And  it  has  been  in  that 
condition  ever  since  ?  "  asked  he. 

The  janitor  shook  his  head.  "  No,"  said  he,  taking  his 
little  girl  up  in  his  arms,  possibly  to  hide  his  countenance. 
"  As  you  did  not  come  down  again  on  that  day,  I  took 
the  liberty  of  locking  it  with  a  key  of  my  own  when  I  went 
to  put  away  the  books  and  shut  the  vault  for  the  night." 
And  he  quietly  buried  his  face  in  his  baby's  floating  curls, 
who  feeling  his  cheek  against  her  own  put  up  her  hand  and 
stroked  it  lovingly,  crying  in  her  caressing  infantile  tones, 

"  Poor  papa  !  poor  tired  papa." 

Mr.  Sylvester's  stern  brow  contracted  painfully.  The 
look  with  which  his  eye  sought  the  sky  without,  would  have 
made  Paula's  young  heart  ache.  Taking  the  child  from  her 
father's  clasp,  he  laid  her  on  the  bed.  When  he  again  con- 
fronted the  janitor  his  face  was  like  a  mask. 

"  Hopgood,"  said  he,  "  you  are  an  honest  man  and  a 
faithful  one ;  I  appreciate  your  worth  and  have  had  confi- 
dence in  your  judgment.  Whom  have  you  told  of  this  oc- 
currence beside  myself?  " 

"  No  one,  sir." 

"  Another  question  ;  if  Mr.  Stuyvesant  had  required  his 
box  that  day  and  had  found  it  in  the  condition  you  describe, 
what  would  you  have  replied  to  his  inquiries  ?  " 

The  janitor  colored  to  the  roots  of  his  hair  in  an  agony 
of  shame  Mr.  Sylvester  may  or  may  not  have  appreciated,  but 
replied  with  the  straightforward  earnestness  of  a  man  driven 
to  bay,  "  I  should  have  been  obliged  to  tell  him  the  truth 


LIFE  AND  DEATH. 

sir ;  that  whereas  I  had  no  personal  knowledge  of  any  one 
but  myself,  having  been  to  the  vaults  since  the  evening  be- 
fore, I  was  called  upon  early  that  morning  to  open  the  out- 
side door  to  you,  sir,  and  that  you  came  into  the  bank,"  (he 
did  not  say  looking  very  pale,  agitated  and  unnatural,  but 
he  could  not  help  remembering  it)  "  and  finding  no  one  on 
duty  but  myself, — the  watchman'having  gone  up  stairs  to  take 
his  usual  cup  of  coffee  before  going  home  for  the  day — you 
sent  me  out  of  the  room  on  an  errand,  which  delayed  me 
some  little  time,  and  that  when  I  came  back  I  found  you 
gone,  and  every  thing  as  I  had  left  it  except  that  small  pick 
lying  on  the  floor." 

The  last  words  were  nearly  inaudible  but  they  must  have 
been  heard  by  Mr.  Sylvester,  for  immediately  upon  their 
utterance,  the  hand  which  unconsciously  had  kept  its  hold 
upon  the  tooth-pick,  opened  and  with  an  uncontrollable  ges- 
ture flung  the  miserable  tell-tale  into  the  stove  near  by. 

"  Hopgood,"  said  the  stately  gentleman,  coming  nearer 
and  holding  him  with  his  eyes  till  the  poor  man  turned  pale 
and  cold  as  a  stone,  "  has  Mr.  Stuy vesant  had  occasion  to 
open  his  box  since  you  locked  it  ?  " 

"  Yes  sir,  he  called  for  it  yesterday  afternoon." 

"  And  who  gave  it  to  him  ?  " 

"I  sir." 

"  Did  he  appear  to  miss  anything  from  it  ?  " 

"  No,  sir." 

"  Do  you  believe,  Hopgcod,  that  there  was  anything 
missing  from  if?  " 


248  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

The  janitor  shrank  like  a  man  subjected  to  the  torture. 
He  fixed  his  glance  on  Mr.  Sylvester's  face  and  his  own 
gradually  lightened. 

"  No  sir  !  "  said  he  at  last,  with  a  gasp  that  made  the  lit- 
tle one  lift  her  curly  head  from  her  pillow  and  shake  it  with 
a  slow  and  wistful  motion  strange  to  see  in  a  child  of  only 
two  years. 

The  proud  man  bowed,  not  with  the  severity  however 
that  might  have  been  expected ;  indeed  his  manner  was 
strangely  shadowed,  and  though  his  lip  betrayed  no  uneasi- 
ness and  his  eye  neither  faltered  or  fell,  there  was  a  vague 
expression  of  awe  upon  his  countenance,  which  it  would 
take  more  than  the  simple  understanding  of  the  worthy  but 
not  over  subtle  man  before  him,  to  detect  much  less  to  com- 
prehend. 

"  You  may  be  sure  that  Mr.  Stuyvesant  will  never  com- 
plain of  any  one  having  tampered  with  his  effects  while  you 
are  the  guardian  of  the  vaults,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Sylvester  in 
clear  ringing  tones.  "  As  for  his  box  being  open,  it  is  right 
that  I  should  explain  that  it  was  the  result  of  a  mistake.  I 
had  occasion  to  go  to  a  box  of  my  own  in  a  hurry  that  morn- 
ing, and  misled  by  the  darkness  and  my  own  nervousness 
perhaps,  took  up  his  instead  of  my  own.  Not  till  I  had 
opened  it — with  the  tooth-pick,  Hopgood,  for  I  had  been  to 
a  reception  and  did  not  have  my  keys  with  me — did  I  notice 
my  mistake.  I  had  intended  to  explain  the  matter  to  Mr. 
Stuyvesant,  but  you  know  what  happened  that  day,  and  since 
then  I  have  thought  nothing  of  it." 


LIFE  AND  DEATH.  249 

The  janitor's  face  cleared  to  its  natural  expression. 
"You  are  very  kind,  sir,  to  explain  yourself  to  me,"  said 
he  ;  "  it  was  not  necessary."  But  his  lightened  face  spoke 
volumes.  "  I  have  been  on  the  police  force  and  I  know  how 
to  hold  my  tongue  when  it  is  my  duty,  but  it  is  very  hard 
work  when  the  duty  is  on  the  other  side.  Have  you  any 
commands  for  me  ?  " 

Mr.  Sylvester  shook  his  head,  and  his  eye  roamed  over 
the  humble  furniture  and  scanty  comforts  of  this  poor  man's 
domicile.  Hopgood  thought  he  might  be  going  to  offer 
him  some  gift  or  guerdon,  and  in  a  low  distressed  tone 
spoke  up  : 

"  I  shall  not  try  to  ask  your  pardon,  sir,  for  anything  I 
have  said.  Honesty  that  is  afraid  to  show  itself,  is  no  hon- 
esty for  me.  I  could  not  meet  your  eye,  knowing  that  I  was 
aware  of  any  circumstance  of  which  you  supposed  me  igno- 
rant. What  I  know,  you  must  know,  as  long  as  I  remain  in 
the  position  you  were  once  kind  enough  to  procure  for  me. 
And  now  that  is  all  I  believe,  sir." 

•Mr.  Sylvester  dropped  his  eyes  from  the  bare  walls  over 
which  they  had  been  restlessly  wandering,  and  fixed  them  for 
a  passing  moment  on  the  countenance  of  the  man  before 
him.  Then  with  a  grave  action  he  lifted  his  hat  from  his 
head,  and  bowed  with  the  deference  he  might  have  shown  to 
one  of  his  proudest  colleagues,  and  without  another  look  or 
word,  quietly  left  the  room. 

Hopgood  in  his  surprise  stared  after  him  somewhat  awe- 
struck. But  when  the  door  had  quite  closed,  he  caught  up 


250  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

his  child  almost  passionately  in  his  arms,  and  crushing  her 
against  his  breast,  asked,  while  his  eye  roamed  round  the 
humble  room  that  in  its  warmth  and  comfort  was  a  palace 
to  him,  "  Will  he  take  the  first  opportunity  to  have  me  dis- 
missed, or  will  his  heart  forgive  the  expression  of  my  mo- 
mentary doubts,  for  the  sake  of  this  poor  wee  one  that  he  so 
tenderly  fancies?  " 

The  question  did  not  answer  itself,  and  indeed  it  was  one 
to  which  time  alone  could  reply. 


BOOK    III. 

THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY. 
XXIII. 

THE    POEM. 

"  I've  shot  my  arrow  o'er  the  house 
And  hurt  my  brother."  — HAMLET. 

WHEN  Miss  Belinda  first  saw  Paula,  she  did  not,  like 
her  sister,  remark  upon  the  elegance  of  her  appearance,  the 
growth  of  her  beauty,  or  the  evidences  of  increased  refine- 
ment in  the  expression  of  her  countenance  and  the  carriage 
of  her  form,  but  with  her  usual  penetration  noted  simply,  the 
sadness  in  her  eye  and  the  tremulous  motion  of  her  lip. 

"  You  had  then  become  fond  of  your  cousin  ?  "  queried 
she  with  characteristic  bluntness. 

Paula  not  understanding  the  motive  of  this  remark,  ques- 
tioned her  with  a  look. 

"  Young  faces  do  not  grow  pale  or  bright  eyes  become 
troubled  without  a  cause.  Grief  for  your  cousin  might  ex- 
plain it,  but  if  you  have  suffered  from  no  grief — " 

"  My  cousin  was  very  kind  to  me,"  hurriedly  interrupted 
Paula.  "  Her  death  was  very  sudden  and  very  heart- 
rending." 

"  So  it  was  ;  "  returned   Miss  Belinda,  "and  I  expected 


2$ 2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

to  see  you  look  worn  and  sad  but  not  restless  and  feverish. 
You  have  a  living  grief,  Paula,  what  is  it  ?  " 

The  young  girl  started  and  looked  down.  For  the  first 
time  in  her  life  she  wished  to  avoid  that  penetrating  glance. 
"  If  I  have,  I  cannot  talk  of  it,"  she  murmured.  "  I  have 
experienced  so  much  this  past  week  ;  my  coming  away  was 
so  unexpected,  that  I  hardly  understand  my  own  feelings,  or 
realize  just  what  it  is  that  troubles  me  most.  All  that  I 
know  is,  that  I  am  very  tired  and  so  sad,  it  seems  as  if  the 
sun  would  never  shine  again." 

"  There  is  then  something  you  have  not  written  me  ?  " 
inquired  the  inexorable  Miss  Belinda. 

"  The  experiences  of  this  last  week  could  never  be  writ- 
ten,— or  told,"  returned  Paula  with  a  droop  of  her  head. 
"  Upon  some  things  our  better  wisdom  places  a  stone  which 
only  the  angels  can  roll  away.  The  future  lies  all  open 
before  us  ;  do  not  let  us  disturb  the  past." 

And  Miss  Belinda  was  forced  to  be  content  lest  she 
should  seem  to  be  over  anxious. 

Not  so  the  various  neighbors  and  friends  to  whom  the 
lengthened  sojourn  of  one  of  their  number  in  an  atmosphere 
of  such  wealth  and  splendor,  possessed  something  of  the 
charm  of  a  forbidden  romance.  For  months  Paula  was 
obliged  to  endure  questions,  that  it  required  all  her  self- 
control  to  answer  with  calmness  and  propriety.  But  at  length 
the  most  insatiable  gossip  amongst  them  was  satisfied  ; 
Paula's  figure  was  no  longer  a  novelty  in  their  streets  ; 
curiosity  languished  and  the  young  girl  was  allowed  to  rest. 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  253 

And  now  could  those  who  loved  her,  discern  that  with 
the  lapse  of  time  and  the  daily  breathings  of  her  native  air, 
the  sad  white  look  had  faded  from  her  face,  leaving  it  a 
marvel  of  freshness  and  positive,  if  somewhat  spiritualized, 
beauty.  The  print  of  deeper  thoughts  and  holier  yearnings 
was  there,  but  no  sign  of  blighted  hopes  or  uncomprehended 
passions.  A  passing  wind  had  blown  the  froth  from  off  the 
cup,  but  had  not  disturbed  the  sparkle  of  the  wine.  She 
had  looked  in  the  face  of  grief,  but  had  not  as  yet  been 
clasped  in  her  relentless  arms.  Only  two  things  could 
vitally  disturb  her  ;  a  letter  from  Cicely,  or  a  sudden  meet- 
ing in  the  village  streets  with  that  elderly  lady  who  haunted 
the  Japha  mansion.  The  former  because  it  recalled  a  life 
around  which  her  fancies  still  played  with  dangerous  persis- 
tency, and  the  latter  because  it  aroused  vain  and  inexplica- 
ble conjectures  as  to  that  person's  strange  and  lingering  look 
in  her  direction.  Otherwise  she  was  happy  ;  finding  in  this 
simple  village-life  a  meaning  and  a  purpose  which  her  short 
but  passionate  outlook  on  a  broader  field,  had  taught  her, 
perhaps,  both  to  detect  and  comprehend.  She  no  longer 
walked  solitary  with  nature.  The  woods,  the  mountains 
with  all  their  varying  panoply  of  exuberant  verdure,  had 
acquired  a  human  significence.  At  her  side  went  the  memo- 
ries of  beloved  faces,  the  thoughts  of  trusted  friends.  From 
the  clouds  looked  forth  a  living  eye,  and  in  the  sound  of 
rustling  leaf  and  singing  streamlet,  spake  the  voices  of 
human  longing  and  human  joy. 

Her  aunts  had  explained  their  position  to  Paula  and  she 


254  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

had  responded  by  expressing  her  determination  to  be  a 
teacher.  But  they  would  not  hear  of  that  at  present,  and 
while  she  waited  their  pleasure  in  the  matter,  she  did  what 
she  could  to  assist  them  in  their  simple  home-life  and  daily 
duties,  lending  her  beauty  to  tasks  that  would  have  made 
the  eyes  of  some  of  her  quondam  admirers  open  with  sur- 
prise, if  only  they  could  have  followed  the  action  of  her 
hands,  after  having  once  caught  a  glimpse  of  the  face  that 
brightened  above  them.  And  so  the  summer  months  went 
by  and  September  came. 

There  was  to  be  an  entertainment  in  the  village  and 
Paula  was  to  assist.  The  idea  had  come  from  her  aunt  and 
was  not  to  be  rejected.  In  one  of  the  strange  incomprehen- 
sible moods  which  sometimes  came  upon  her  at  this  time, 
she  had  written  a  poem,  and  nothing  would  do  but  that 
she  mnst  read  it  before  the  assembled  company  of  neigh- 
bors and  friends,  that  were  to  be  gathered  at  the  Squire's 
house  on  this  gala  evening.  She  did  not  wish  to  do  it. 
The  sacred  sense  of  possession  passes  when  we  uncover 
our  treasure  to  another's  eyes,  giving  way  to  a  lower  feeling 
not  to  be  courted  by  one  of  Paula's  sensitive  nature.  Be- 
sides she  would  rather  have  poured  this  first  outburst  of 
secret  enthusiasm  into  other  ears  than  these  ;  but  she  had 
given  her  word  and  the  ordeal  must  be  submitted  to.  There 
are  many  who  remember  how  she  looked  on  that  night. 
She  had  arrayed  herself  for  the  occasion,  in  the  prettiest 
of  her  dresses,  and  mindful  of  Ona's  injunction,  did  not 
mar  the  effect  of  its  soft  and  uniform  gray  with  any  hint 


THE   JAP  HA   MYSTERY.  2$  5 

of  extraneous  color.  The  result  was  that  they  saw  only 
her  beauty ;  and  what  beauty  !  A  very  old  man,  an  early 
settler  in  the  village,  who  had  tottered  out  to  enjoy  a  last 
glimpse  of  life  before  turning  his  aged  face  to  the  wall,  said 
it  made  the  thought  of  heaven  a  little  more  real.  "  I  can 
go  home  and  think  how  the  angels  look,"  said  he  in  his 
simple,  half-childish  way.  And  no  one  contradicted  him, 
for  there  was  a  still  light  on  her  face  that  was  less  of  earth 
than  heaven,  though  why  it  should  rest  there  to-night  she 
least  of  all  could  have  told,  for  her  poem  had  to  do  with 
earth  and  its  deepest  passions  and  its  wildest  unrest.  It  was 
a  clarion  blast,  not  a  dreaming  rhapsody,  that  lay  coiled 
up  in  the  paper  she  held  in  her  hand. 

My  readers  must  pardon  me  if  I  give  them  Paula's 
poem,  for  without  it  they  would  not  understand  its  effect 
and  consequent  result.  It  was  called,  "  The  Defence  of  the 
Bride,"  and  was  of  the  old  ballad  order.  As  she  rose  to  read, 
many  of  the  younger  ones  in  the  audience  began  cautiously 
to  move  to  one  side,  but'  at  the  first  words,  young  as  well  as 
old  paused  and  listened  where  they  stood,  for  her  voice  was 
round  and  full,  and  the  memory  of  clashing  spears  and 
whirling  battle-axes  that  informed  the  war-song  which  she 
had  heard  Bertram  play,  was  with  her,  to  give  color  to  her 
tones  and  fire  to  her  glance. 


THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 


THE  DEFENCE   OF   THE   BRIDE. 

He  was  coming  from  the  altar  when  the  tocsin  rang  alarm, 
With  his  fair  young  wife  beside  him,  lovely  in  her  bridal  charm  ; 
But  he  was  not  one  to  palter  with  a  duty,  or  to  slight 
The  trumpet-call  of  honor  for  his  vantage  or  delight. 

Turning  from  the  bride  beside  him  to  his  stern  and  martial  train, 
From  their  midst  he  summoned  to  him  the  brothers  of  Germain  ; 
At  the  word  they  stepped  before  him,  nine  strong  warriors  brave  and 

.  true, 
From  the  youngest  to  the  eldest,  Enguerrand  to  mighty  Hugh. 

"  Sons  of  Germain,  to  your  keeping  do  I  yield  my  bride  to-day. 
Guard  her  well  as  you  do  love  me  ;  guard  her  well  and  holily. 
Dearer  than  mine  own  soul  to  me,  you  will  hold  her  as  your  life, 
'Gainst  the  guile  of  seeming  friendship  and  the  force  of  open  strife." 

"  We  will  guard  her,"  cried  they  firmly  ;  and  with  just  another  glance 
On  the  yearning  and  despairing  in  his  young  wife's  countenance, 
Gallant  Beaufort  strode  before  them  down  the  aisle  and  through  the  door, 
And  a  shadow  came  and  lingered  where  the  sunlight  stood  before. 

Eight  long  months  the  young  wife  waited,  watching  from  her  bridal 

room 

For  the  coming  of  her  husbaud  up  the  valley  forest's  gloom. 
Eight  long  months  the  sons  of  Germain  paced  the  ramparts  and  the  wall, 
With  their  hands  upon  their  halberds  ready  for  the  battle-call. 

Then  there  came  a  sound  of  trumpets  pealing  up  the  vale  below, 
And  a  dozen  floating  banners  lit  the  forest  with  their  glow, 
And  the  bride  arose  like  morning  when  it  feels  the  sunlight  nigh, 
And  her  smile  was  like  a  rainbow  flashing  from  a  misty  sky. 

But  the  eldest  son  of  Germain  lifting  voice  from  off  the  wall, 
Cried  aloud,  "  It  is  a  stranger's  and  not  Sir  Beaufort's  call ; 
Have  you  ne'er  a  slighted  lover  or  a  kinsman  with  a  heart 
Base  enough  to  seek  his  vengeance  at  the  sharp  end  of  the  dart  ?" 


THE   JAP  HA   MYSTERY. 

"  There  is  Sassard  of  the  Mountains,"  answered  she  withouten  guile, 
"  While  I  wedded  at  the  chancel,  he  stood  mocking  in  the  aisle ; 
And  my  maidens  say  he  swore  there  that  for  all  my  plighted  vow, 
They  would  see  me  in  his  castle  yet  upon  Morency's  brow." 

"  It  is  Sassard  and  no  other  then,"  her  noble  guardian  cried  ; 
"  There  is  craft  in  yonder  summons,"  and  he  rung  his  sword  beside. 
"  To  the  walls,  ye  sons  of  Germain  !  and  as  each  would  hold  his  life 
From  the  bitter  shame  of  falsehood,  let  us  hold  our  master's  wife." 

"Can  you  hold  her,  can  you  shield  her  from  the  breezes  that  await?" 
Cried  the  stinging  voice  of  Sassard  from  his  stand  beside  the  gate. 
"  If  you  have  the  power  to  shield  her  from  the  sunlight  and  the  wind, 
You  may  shield  her  from  stern  Sassard  when  his  falchion  is  untwined." 

"  We  can  hold  her,  we  can  shield  her,"  leaped  like  fire  from  off  the  wall, 
And  young  Enguerrand  the  valiant,  sprang  out  before  them  all. 
"  And  if  breezes  bring  dishonor,  we  will  guard  her  from  their  breath, 
Though  we  yield  her  to  the  keeping  of  the  sacred  arms  of  Death." 

And  with  force  that  never  faltered,  did  they  guard  her  all  that  day, 
Though  the  strength  of  triple  armies  seemed  to  battle  in  the  fray, 
The  old  castle's  rugged  ramparts  holding  firm  against  the  foe, 
As  a  goodly  dyke  resisteth  the  whelming  billow's  flow. 

But  next  morning  as  the  sunlight  rose  in  splendor  over  all, 
Hugh  the  mighty,  sank  heart-wounded  in  his  station  on  the  wall, 
At  the  noon  the  valiant  Raoul  of  the  merry  eye  and  heart, 
Gave  his  beauty  and  his  jestings  to  the  foeman's  jealous  dart. 

Gallant  Maurice  next  sank  faltering  with  a  death  wound  'neath  his  hair, 
But  still  fighting  on  till  Sassard  pressed  across  him  up  the  stair. 
Generous  Clement  followed  after,  crying  as  his  spirit  passed, 
'  Sons  of  Germain  to  the  rescue,  and  be  loyal  to  the  last ! " 

Gentle  Jaspar,  lordly  Clarence,  Sessamine  the  doughty  brand, 
Even  Henri  who  had  yielded  ne'er  before  to  mortal  hand  ; 
One  by  one  they  fall  and  perish,  while  the  vaunting  foemen  pour 
Through  the  breach  and  up  the  court  way  to  the  very  turret's  door. 


258  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Enguerrand  and  Stephen  only  now  were  left  of  all  that  nine, 

To  protect  the  single  stairway  from  the  traitor's  fell  design ; 

But  with  might  as  'twere  of  thirty,  did  they  wield  the  axe  and  brand, 

Striving  in  their  desperation  the  fierce  onslaught  to  withstand. 

But  what  man  of  power  so  godlike  he  can  stay  the  billow's  wrack, 
Or  with  single-handed  weapon  hold  an  hundred  foemen  back  ! 
As  the  sun  turned  sadly  westward,  with  a  wild  despairing  cry, 
Stephen  bowed  his  noble  forehead  and  sank  down  on  earth  to  die. 

"  Ah  ha ! "  then  cried  cruel  Sassard  with  his  foot  upon  the  stair, 

"  Have  I  come  to  thee,  my  boaster  ?  "  and  he  whirled  his  sword  in  air. 

"  Thou  who  pratest  of  thy  power  to  protect  her  to  the  death, 

What  think'st  thou  now  of  Sassard  and  the  wind's  aspiring  breath  ?  " 

"  What  I  think  let  this  same  show  you,"  answered  fiery  Euguerrand, 
And  he  poised  his  lofty  battle-ax  with  sure  and  steady  hand  ; 
"  Now  as  Heaven  loveth  justice,  may  this  deathly  weapon  fall 
On  the  murderer  of  my  brothers  and  th'  undoer  of  us  all." 

With  one  mighty  whirl  he  sent  it  ;  flashing  from  his  hand  it  came, 
Like  the  lightning  from  the  heavens  in  a  whirl  of  awful  flame, 
And  betwixt  the  brows  of  Sassard  and  his  two  false  eyeballs  passed, 
And  the  murderer  sank  before  it,  like  a  tree  before  the  blast. 

"  Now  ye  minions  of  a  traitor  if  you  look  for  vengeance,  come  ! " 
And  his  voice  was  like  a  trumpet  when  it  clangs  a  victor  home. 
But  a  cry  from  far  below  him  rose  like  thunder  upward,  "  Nay  ! 
Let  them  turn  and  meet  the  husband  if  they  hunger  for  the  fray." 

O  the  yell  that  sprang  to  heaven  as  that  voice  swept  up  the  stair, 
And  the  slaughter  dire  that  followed  in  another  moment  there  1 
From  the  least  unto  the  greatest,  from  the  henchman  to  the  lord, 
No.  a  man  on  all  that  stairway  lived  to  sheath  again  his  sword. 

At  the  top  that  flame-bound  forehead,  at  the  base  that  blade  of  fire — 
'Twas  the  meeting  of  two  tempests  in  their  potency  and  ire. 
Ere  the  moon  coald  falter  inward  with  its  pity  and  its  woe, 
Beaufort  saw  the  path  before  him  unencumbered  of  the  foe. 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  2 $9 

Saw  his  pathway  unencumbered  and  strode  up  and  o'er  the  floor, 

Even  to  the  very  threshold  of  his  lovely  lady's  door, 

And  already  in  his  fancy  did  he  see  the  golden  beam 

Of  her  locks  upon  his  shoulder  and  her  sweet  eyes'  happy  gleam  : 

When  behold  a  form  upstarting  from  the  shadows  at  his  side. 
That  with  naked  sword  uplifted  barred  the  passage  to  his  bride  ; 
It  was  Enguerrand  the  dauntless,  but  with  staring  eyes  and  hair 
Blowing  wild  about  a  forehead  pale  as  snow  in  moonlit  glare. 

"  Ah  my  master,  we  have  held  her,  we  have  guarded  her,"  he  said. 
"  Not  a  shadow  of  dishonor  has  so  much  as  touched  her  head. 
Twenty  wretches  lie  below  there  with  the  brothers  of  Germain, 
Twenty  foemen  of  her  honor  that  I,  Enguerrand,  have  slain. 

"  But  one  other  foe  remaineth,  one  remaineth  yet,"  he  cried, 
"  Which  it  fits  this  hand  to  punish  ere  you  cross  unto  your  bride. 
It  is  I,  Enguerrand  !"  shrieked  he  ;  "  and  as  I  have  slain  the  rest, 
So  I  smite  this  foeman  also  ! " — and  his  sword    plunged  through  his 
breast. 

O  the  horror  of  that  moment !     "  Art  thou  mad  my  Enguerrand?  " 
Cried  his  master,  striving  wildly  to  withdraw  the  fatal  brand. 
But  the  stern  youth  smiling  sadly,  started  back  from  his  embrace, 
While  a  flash  like  summer  lightning,  flickered  direful  on  his  face. 

"  Yes,  a  traitor  worse  than  Sassard  ;"  and  he  pointed  down  the  stair, 
"  For  my  heart  has  dared  to  love  her  whom  my  hand  defended  there. 
While  the  others  fought  for  honor,  I  by  passion  was  made  strong, 
Set  your  heel  upon  my  bosom  for  my  soul  has  done  you  wrong. 

"  But,"  and  here  he  swayed  and  faltered  till  his  knee  sank  on  the  floor, 
Yet  in  falling  turned  his  forehead  ever  toward  that  silent  door  ; 
"  But  your  warrior  hand  my  master,  may  take  mine  without  a  stain, 
For  my  hand  has  e'er  been  loyal,  and  your  enemy  is  slain." 

A  short  silence  followed  the  last  word,  then  a  burst  of  ap- 
plause  testified  to  the    appreciation  of  her   audience,  and 


260  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Paula  crept  away  to  hide  her  blushing  cheeks  in  the  com- 
parative darkness  of  a  little  vine-covered  balcony  that  jutted 
out  from  the  ante-room.  What  were  her  thoughts  as  she 
leaned  there  !  In  the  subsidence  of  any  great  etaotion — and 
Paula  had  felt  every  word  she  uttered — there  is  more  or  less 
of  shock  and  tumult.  She  did  not  think,  she  only  felt. 
Suddenly  a  hand  was  laid  on  her  arm  and  a  low  voice  whis- 
pered in  her  ear, 

"  Did  you  write  that  poem  yourself  ?  " 

Turning,  she  encountered  the  shadowy  form  of  a  woman 
leaning  close  at  her  side  and  appearing  in  the  dim  light  that 
shone  on  her  from  the  lamps  beyond,  an  eager  image  of  ex- 
pectancy. 

"  Yes,"  returned  Paula,  "  why  do  you  ask  ?  " 

The  woman,  whoever  she  was,  did  not  answer.  "  And 
you  believe  in  such  devotion  as  that  !  "  she  murmured.  "  You 
can  understand  a  man,  aye,  or  a  woman  either,  risking  hap- 
piness and  fame,  life  and  death,  for  the  sake  of  a  trust ! 
Such  things  are  not  folly  to  you  !  You  could  see  a  heart 
spill  itself  drop  by  drop  through  a  longer  vigil  than  the  eight 
months  watching  on  the  ramparts,  and  not  sneer  at  a  fidelity 
that  could  not  falter  because  it  had  given  its  word  ?  Speak  ; 
you  write  of  faithfulness  with  a  pen  of  fire,  is  your  heart 
faithful  too  ?  " 

There  was  something  in  these  words,  spoken  as  they 
were  in  a  tone  of  suppressed  passion,  that  startled  and 
aroused  Paula.  Leaning  forward,  she  endeavored  to  see  the 
face  of  the  woman  who  thus  forcibly  addressed  her,  but  the 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  26 1 

light  was  too  dim.  The  outline  of  a  brow  covered  by  some 
close  headgear  was  all  she  could  detect. 

"You  speak  earnestly,"  said  Paula,  "but  that  is  what  I 
like.  Fidelity  to  a  cause,  or  fidelity  to  a  trust,  demands  the 
sympathy  and  admiration  of  all  honest  and  generous  hearts. 
If  I  am  ever  called  upon  to  maintain  either,  I  hope  that  my 
enthusiasm  will  not  have  all  been  expended  in  words." 

"You  please  me,",  murmured  the  woman,  "you  please 
me  ;  will  you  come  and  see  me  and  let  me  tell  you  a  story 
to  mate  the  poem  you  have  given  us  to-night  ?  " 

The  trembling  eagerness  of  her  tone  it  would  be  impossi- 
ble to  describe.  Paula  was  thrilled  by  it.  "  If  you  will  tell 
me  who  you  are,"  said  Paula,  "  I  certainly  will  try  and  come. 
I  should  be  glad  to  hear  anything  you  have  to  relate  to  me." 

"  I  thought  every  one  knew  who  I  was,"  returned  the 
woman  ;  and  drawing  Paula  back  into  the  ante- room,  she 
turned  her  face  upon  her.  "  Any  one  will  tell  you  where 
Margery  Hamlin  lives,"  said  she.  "  Do  not  disappoint  me, 
and  do  not  keep  me  waiting  long."  And  with  a  nod  and  a 
deep  strange  smile  that  made  her  aged  face  almost  youthful, 
she  entered  the  crowd  and  disappeared  from  Paula's  sight. 

It  was  the  woman  whose  nightly  visits  to  the  deserted 
home  of  the  Japhas  had  once  been  the  talk  and  was  still  the 
unsolved  mystery  of  the  town.  - 


XXIV. 

THE    JAPHA    MANSION. 

"  Ah  what  a  warning  for  a  thoughtless  man, 
Could  field  or  grove,  could  any  spot  on  earth 
Show  to  his  eye  an  image  of  the  pangs 
Which  it  has  witnessed  ;  render  back  an  echo 
Of  the  sad  steps  by  which  it  hath  been  trod. 

— WORDSWORTH. 

UNEXPLAINED  actions  if  long  continued,  lose  after  awhile 
their  interest  if  not  their  mystery.  The  aged  lady  who 
now  for  many  years  had  been  seen  at  every  night-fall  to 
leave  her  home,  traverse  the  village  streets,  enter  the  Japha 
mansion,  remain  there  an  hour  and  then  re-issue  with  tremu- 
_lous  steps  and  bowed  head,  had  become  so  common  a  sight 
to  the  village  eye,  that  even  the  children  forgot  to  ask  what 
her  errand  was,  or  why  she  held  her  head  so  hopefully  when 
she  entered,  or  looked  so  despondent  when  she  came  forth. 

But  to  Paula,  for  reasons  already  mentioned,  this  secret 
and  persistent  vigil  in  a  forsaken  and  mysterious  dwelling, 
was  fraught  with  a  significance  which  had  never  lost  its 
power  either  to  excite  her  curiosity  or  to  arouse  her  imagi- 
nation. Many  a  time  had  she  gone  home  from  some  late 
encounter  with  the  aged  lady,  to  brood  by  the  hour  upon 
the  expression  of  that  restless  eye  which  in  its  wanderings 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  263 

never  failed  to  turn  upon  her  own  youthful  face  and  linger 
there  in  the  manner  I  have  already  noted.  She  thought  of 
it  by  night,  she  thought  of  it  by  day.  She  felt  herself  drawn 
to  that  woman's  suffering  heart  as  by  invisible  cords.  To 
understand  the  feelings  of  this  desolate  being,  she  had  even 
studied  the  face  of  that  old  house,  until  she  knew  it  under 
its  every  aspect.  Often  in  shutting  her  eyes  at  night,  she 
would  perceive  as  in  a  mirror  a  vision  of  its  long  gray  front, 
barred  door  and  sealed  windows  shining  in  the  moon,  save 
where  the  deep  impenetrable  shadows  of  its  two  guardian 
poplars  lay  black  and  dismal  upon  its  ghostly  surface.  Again 
she  would  behold  it  as  it  reared  itself  dark  and  dripping  in 
a  blinding  storm,  its  walls  plastered  with  leaves  from  the 
immovable  poplars,  and  its  neglected  garden  lying  sodden 
and  forlorn  under  the  flail  of  the  ceaseless  storm.  Then  its 
early  morning  face  would  strike  her  fancy.  The  slow  loom- 
ing of  its  chimney-tops  against  a  brightening  sky  ;  the  gradual 
coming  out  of  its  forsaken  windows  and  solemn  looking 
doors  from  the  mystery  of  darkness  into  the  no  less  mystery 
of  day  ;  the  hint  of  roselight  on  its  barren  boards  ;  the  gleam 
of  sunshine  on  its  untrodden  threshold  ;  a  sunshine  as  pure 
and  sweet  as  if  a  bride  stood  there  in  her  beauty,  waiting 
for  admission  into  the  deserted  halls  beyond.  All  and 
everything  that  could  tend  to  invest  the  house  and  its  con- 
stant visitor  with  an  atmosphere  of  awe  and  interest,  had  oc- 
curred to  this  young  girl  in  her  daily  reveries  and  nightly 
dreams.  It  was  therefore  with  a  thrill  deep  as  her  expecta- 
tion and  vivid  as  her  sympathy,  that  she  recognized  in  her 


264  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

eager  interlocutor  and  proposed  confident,  the  woman  about 
whose  life  and  actions  rested  for  her  such  a  veil  of  impene- 
trable mystery.  The  thought  moved  her,  excited  her,  and 
made  the  rest  of  the  evening  pass  like  a  dream.  She  was 
anxious  for  the  next  day  to  come,  that  she  might  seek  this 
Mrs.  Hamlin  in  her  home,  and  hear  from  her  lips  the  tale  of 
devotion  that  should  mate  her  own  simple  but  enthusiastic 
poem. 

When  the  next  day  did  come,  it  rained,  rained  bitterly, 
persistent  and  with  a  steady  drive  from  the  north  east,  that 
made  her  going  out  impossible.  The  day  following  she  was 
indisposed,  and  upon  the  succeeding  afternoon,  she  was  en- 
gaged in  duties  that  precluded  all  thought  of  visiting.  The 
next  day  was  Sunday,  and  Monday  had  its  own  demands 
which  she  could  not  slight.  It  was  therefore  well  nigh  a 
week  from  the  night  of  the  entertainment,  before  the  oppor- 
tunity offered  for  which  she  was  so  anxious.  Her  curiosity 
and  expectation  had  thus  time  to  grow,  and  it  was  with  a 
determination  to  allow  nothing  to  stand  in  her  way,  that  she 
set  out  from  home  in  a  flood  of  mild  September  sunshine,  to 
visit  Mrs.  Hamlin.  But  alas,  for  resolutions  made  in  a 
country  village  prior  to  the  opening  of  a  church  fair  !  She 
had  scarcely  gone  a  dozen  steps  before  she  was  accosted  by 
one  of  the  managers,  a  woman  who  neither  observes  your 
haste,  nor  pays  any  attention  to  your  possible  preoccupation. 
Do  what  she  could,  she  found  it  impossible  to  escape  from 
this  persistent  individual  until  she  had  satisfied  her  upon 
matters  which  it  took  a  full  half  hour  to  discuss,  and  wheu 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  26$ 

at  last  she  succeeded  in  doing  so,  it  was  only  to  fall  into  the 
hands  of  an  aged  deacon  of  the  church,  whose  protecting 
friendship  it  were  a  sin  to  wound,  while  his  garrulous  tongue 
made  it  no  ordinary  trial  of  patience  to  stand  and  listen. 
In  short  the  best  part  of  the  afternoon  was  gone  before  she 
found  herself  at  the  door  of  Mrs.  Hamlin's  house.  But  she 
was  not  to  be  deterred  by  further  hesitation  from  the  pursuit 
of  her  object.  Rapping  smartly  on  the  door,  she  listened. 
No  stir  came  from  within.  Again  she  rapped  and  again 
she  listened.  No  response  came  to  assure  her  that  her 
summons  had  been  heard.  Surprised  at  this,  for  she  had 
been  told  Mrs.  Hamlin  was  always  at  home  during  the  after- 
noon, she  glanced  up  at  the  church  clock  in  plain  view  from 
the  doorstep,  and  blushed  to  observe  that  it  was  six  o'clock, 
the  hour  at  which  this  mysterious  woman  always  left  her 
house,  to  accomplish  her  vigil  at  the  Japha  mansion. 

"  What  have  I  done  ? "  thought  Paula,  and  felt  a  strange 
thrill  as  she  realized  that  even  at  that  moment,  the  woman 
with  the  eager  but  restless  eyes,  was  shut  within  the  pre- 
cincts of  that  deserted  dwelling,  engaged  in  prayer,  perhaps 
wet  with  tears,  who  knows  ?  The  secret  of  what  she  did  in 
that  long  and  quiet  twilight  hour  had  never  been  revealed. 
Leaving  the  little  brown  house  behind,  Paula  found  herself 
insensibly  taking  the  road  to  the  Japha  mansion.  If  she 
could  not  enter  it  and  share  the  watch  of  the  devoted 
woman  who  had  promised  her  her  confidence,  she  could  at 
least  observe  if  the  windows  were  open  or  the  blinds  raised. 
To  be  sure  she  ought  to  be  at  home,  but  Miss  Belinda  was 


266  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

indulgent  and  did  not  question  her  comings  and  goings  too 
closely.  An  irresistible  force  drew  her  down  the  street,  and 
she  did  not  hesitate  to  follow  the  lead  of  her  impulse.  No 
one  accosted  her  now,  it  was  the  tea  hour  in  most  of  these 
houses  and  the  streets  were  comparatively  deserted.  The 
only  house  whose  chimneys  lacked  the  rising  smoke,  was  the 
one  towards  which  her  footsteps  were  tending.  She  could 
descry  it  from  afar.  Its  gaunt  walls  from  which  the  paint 
had  long  ago  faded,  stared  uncompromisingly  upon  her  in 
the  autumn  sunshine.  There  was  no  welcome  in  its  close 
shutters  with  their  broken  slats  from  which  hung  tangled 
strips  of  old  rags — the  remnants  of  some  boy's  kite.  The 
stiff  and  solemn  poplars  rose  grim  and  forbidding  at  the  gate 
once  swung  wide  to  the  fashion  and  gallantry  of  proud  ladies 
and  stalwart  gentlemen,  but  now  pushed  aside  solely  by  the 
hand  of  a  tremulous  old  woman,  or  the  irreverant  palm  of 
some  daring  school-boy.  From  the  tangled  garden  looked 
forth  neither  flower  nor  blossoming  shrub.  Beauty  and  grace 
could  not  thrive  in  this  wilderness  of  decay.  A  dandelion 
would  have  felt  itself  out  of  place  beneath  the  eye  of  that 
ghostly  door,  with  the  sinister  plank  nailed  across  it,  like  the 
separating  line  between  light  and  darkness,  right  and  wrong, 
life  and  death.  What  loneliness  !  what  a  monument  of 
buried  passions  outliving  death  itself ! 

Paula  paused  as  she  reached  the  gate  ;  but  remembering 
that  Mrs.  Hamlin  was  accustomed  to  enter  the  house  by  a 
side  door,  hurried  around  the  corner  and  carefully  surveyed 
the  windows  from  that  quarter.  One  of  the  shutters  was 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  267 

open,  allowing  the  flame  of  the  setting  sun  to  gild  the  panes 
like  gold.  She  did  not  know  then  nor  has  she  been  able  to 
explain  since,  what  it  was  that  came  over  her  at  the  sight,  but 
almost  before  she  realized  it,  she  had  returned  to  the  gate, 
opened  it,  threaded  the  overgrown  garden,  reached  the  door 
which  she  had  so  frequently  beheld  the  aged  woman  enter 
and  knocked. 

Instantly  she  was  seized  with  a  consciousness  of  what  she 
had  done,  and  frightened  at  her  temerity,  meditated  an  im- 
mediate escape.  Drawing  the  folds  of  her  mantle  about  her 
form  and  face,  she  prepared  to  fly,  when  she  remembered 
the  look  of  entreaty  with  which  this  woman  had  said  on 
that  night  of  their  conversation,  "  Do  not  disappoint  me  !  do 
not  keep  me  long  in  suspense  !  "  and  moved  by  a  fresh  im- 
pulse, turned  and  inflicted  another  resounding  knock  on  the 
door. 

The  result  was  unlooked-for  and  surprising.  To  the 
sound  from  within  of  a  quick  passionate  cry,  there  came  a 
hurried  movement,  followed  by  a- deep  silence,  then  another 
hasty  stir  succeeded  by  a  longer  silence,  then  a  rush  which 
seemed  to  bring  all  things  with  it,  and  the  door  opened  and 
Mrs.  Hamlin  appeared  before  her  with  a  countenance  so 
pallid  with  expectancy,  that  Paula  instinctively  felt  that  in 
some  unconscious  way,  she  had  loosened  the  bonds  of  an 
uncontrollable  emotion,  and  was  drawing  back,  when  the 
woman  with  a  quick  look  in  her  shrouded  face,  exultantly 
caught  her  hand  in  hers,  and  drawing  her  over  the  threshold, 
gasped  out  in  a  delirium  of  incomprehensible  joy  : 


268  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  I  knew  you  would  come !  I  knew  that  God  would  not 
let  you  forget !  Fifteen  years  have  I  waited,  Jacqueline  ! 
fifteen  long,  tedious,  suffering  years  !  But  they  all  seem  like 
nothing  now  !  You  have  come,  you  have  come,  and  all  that 
I  ask,  is  that  God  will  not  let  me  die  till  I  realize  my  joy  !  " 

The  emotion  with  which  she  uttered  these  strange  words 
was  so  overpowering,  and  her  body  seemed  so  weak  to  stand 
the  strain,  that  Paula  instinctively  put  forth  her  hand  to 
sustain  her.  The  action  loosened  her  cloak.  Instantly  the 
eyes  that  had  been  fixed  upon  her  with  such  delirious  rap- 
ture grew  blank  with  dismay,  a  frightful  shudder  ran  through 
the  woman's  aged  frame  ;  she  tore  at  the  cloak  that  still  en- 
veloped the  young  girl's  shoulders,  and  pulling  it  off,  took 
one  view  of  the  fresh  and  beautiful  countenance  before  her, 
and  without  uttering  a  word,  fell  back  in  a  deep  and  deadly 
swoon  upon  the  floor. 

"  O  what  have  I  done  ? "  cried  Paula,  flinging  herself 
down  beside  that  pale  and  rigid  figure  ;  but  instantly  re- 
membering herself  she  leaped  to  her  feet  and  looked  about 
for  some  means  to  resucitate  the  sufferer.  There  was  a 
goblet  of  water  on  a  table  near  by.  Seizing  it,  she  bathed 
the  face  and  hands  of  the  woman  before  her,  moaning  aloud 
in  her  grief  and  dismay,  "  Have  I  killed  her  !  O  what  is 
this  mystery  that  brings  such  a  doom  of  anguish  to  this  poor 
heart  ?  " 

But  from  those  pallid  lips  came  no  response,  and  feeling 
greatly  alarmed,  Paula  was  about  to  rush  from  the  house  for 
assistance,  when  she  felt  a  tremulous  pull  upon  her  skirt, 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  269 

and  turning,  saw  that  the  glassy  eyes  had  opened  at  last  and 
were  now  gazing  upon  her  with  mute  but  eloquent  appeal, 
f  She  instantly  returned.  "  O  I  am  so  sorry,"  she  mur- 
mured, sinking  again  upon  her  knees  beside  the  suffering 
woman.  "  I  did  not  know,  could  not  realize  that  my  pres- 
ence here  would  affect  you  so  deeply.  Forgive  me  and  tell 
me  what  I  can  do  to  make  you  forget  my  presumption." 

The  woman  shook  her  head,  her  lips  moved  and  she 
struggled  vainly  to  rise.  Paula  immediately  lent  her  the  aid 
of  her  strong  young  hand  and  in  a  few  minutes,  Mrs.  Hamlin 
was  on  her  feet.  "  O  God  !  "  were  her  first  words  as  she 
sank  into  the  chair  which  Paula  hastily  drew  forward,  "that 
I  should  taste  the  joy  and  she  be  still  unsaved !  " 

Seeing  her  so  absorbed,  Paula  ventured  to  glance  around 
her.  She  found  herself  in  a  large  square  room  sparsely  but 
comfortably  furnished  in  a  style  that  bespake  it  as  the 
former  sitting-room  of  the  dead  and  buried  Japhas.  From 
the  walls  above  hung  a  few  ancient  pictures.  A  large  hair- 
cloth sofa  of  a  heavy  antique  shape,  confronted  the  eye  from 
one  side  of  the  room,  an  equally  ancient  book-case  from  the 
other.  The  carpet  was  faded  and  so  were  the  curtains,  but 
they  had  once  been  of  an  attractive  hue  and  pattern.  Con- 
spicuous in  the  midst  stood  a  large  table  with  a  well-trimmed 
lamp  upon  it,  and  close  against  it  an  easy  chair  with  an  up- 
right back.  This  last  as  well  as  everything  else  in  the  room, 
was  in  a  condition  of  neatness  that  would  have  surprised 
Paula  if  she  had  not  been  acquainted  with  the  love  and  de- 
votion of  this  woman,  who  in  her  daily  visits  to  this  house, 


2/0  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

probably  took  every  pains  to  keep  things  freshened  and  in 
order. 

Satisfied  with  her  survey,  she  again  directed  her  atten- 
tion to  Mrs.  Hamlin,  and  started  to  find  that  person's  eyes 
fixed  upon  her  own  with  an  expression  of  deep,  demanding 
interest. 

'*  You  are  looking  at  the  shadows  of  things  that  were," 
exclaimed  the  old  lady  in  thrilling  tones.  "  It  is  a  fearful 
thought  to  be  shut  up  with  the  ghost  of  a  vanished  past,  is  it 
not  ?  That  chair  by  your  side  has  not  been  sat  in  since 
Colonel  Japha  rose  from  it  twelve  years  ago  to  totter  to  the 
bed  where  he  breathed  his  last.  It  is  waiting,  everything  is 
waiting.  I  thought  the  end  had  come  to-night,  that  the 
vigil  was  over,  the  watch  finished,  but  God  in  his  wisdom 
says,  '  No,'  and  I  must  wait  a  little  longer.  Alas  in  a  little 
while  longer  the  end  will  be  here  indeed  !  " 

The  despondency  with  which  she  uttered  these  last  words 
showed  where  her  thoughts  were  tending,  and  to  comfort 
her,  Paula  drew  up  a  chair  and  sat  down  by  her  side.  "  You 
were  going  to  tell  me  the  story  of  a  great  love  and  a  great 
devotion.  Cannot  you  do  so  now?" 

The  woman  started,  glanced  hastily  around,  and  let  her 
eyes  travel  to  Paula's  face  where  they  rested  with  something 
of  their  old  look  of  secret  longing  and  doubt. 

"  You  are  the  one  who  wrote  the  poem,"  she  murmured  ; 
"  I  remember."  Then  with  a  sudden  feverish  impulse, 
leaned  forward,  and  stroking  back  the  waving  locks  from 
Paula's  brow,  exclaimed  hurriedly,  "  You  look  like  her,  you 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  2? I 

have  the  same  dark  hair  and  wonderful  eyes,  more  beautiful 
perhaps,  but  like  her,  O  so  like  her  !  That  is  why  I  made 
such  a  mistake."  She  shuddered,  with  a  quick  low  sob,  but 
instantly  subdued  her  emotion  and  taking  Paula's  hand  in 
hers  continued,  "  You  are  young,  my  daughter ;  youth  does 
not  enjoy  carrying  burdens  ;  can  I,  a  stranger  ask  you  to 
assist  me  with  mine  1" 

"  You  may,"  returned  Paula.  "  If  it  will  give  you  any 
relief  I  will  help  you  bear  it  willingly." 

"  You  will !  Has  heaven  then  sent  me  the  aid  my  fail- 
ing spirits  demand  ?  Can  I  count  on  you,  child  ?  But  I 
will  ask  for  no  promise  till  you  have  heard  my  story.  To 
no  one  have  I  ever  imparted  the  secret  of  my  life,  but  from 
the  first  moment  I  saw  your  fair  young  face,  I  felt  that 
through  you  would  come  my  help,  if  help  ever  came  to  make 
my  final  moments  easier  and  my  last  days  less  bitter."  And 
rising  up,  she  led  Paula  to  a  door  which  she  solemnly 
opened.  "  I  am  glad  that  you  are  here,"  said  she.  "  I  could 
never  have  asked  you  to  come,  but  since  you  have  braved 
the  dead  and  crossed  this  threshold,  you  must  see  and 
know  the  whole.  You  will  understand  my  story  better." 

Taking  her  through  a  dark  passage,  she  threw  wide 
another  door,  and  the  parlors  of  the  vanished  Japhas  opened 
before  them.  It  was  a  ghostly  vision.  A  weird  twilight 
scene  of  clustered  shadows  brooding  above  articles  of  musty 
grandeur.  In  spite  of  the  self-command  learned  by  her 
late  experiences,  Paula  recoiled,  saying, 

"  It  is  too  sad,  too  lonesome  !  "  But  the  woman  with- 
out heeding  her,  hurried  her  on  over  the  worm-eaten  carpet 


2/2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

and  between  the  time-worn  chairs  and  heavy-browed  cabi- 
nets, to  the  hall  beyond. 

"  I  have  not  been  here,  myself,  for  a  year,"  said  Mrs. 
Hamlin,  glancing  fearfully  up  and  down  the  dusky  corridor. 
*'  It  is  not  often  I  can  brave  the  memories  of  this  spot." 
^And  she  pointed  with  one  hand  towards  the  darkened  door 
at  its  end,  whose  spacious  if  not  stately  panels  gave  no  hint 
to  the  eye  of  the  dread  bar  that  crossed  it  like  a  line  of 
doom  upon  the  outside,  and  then  turning,  let  her  eye  fall 
with  still  heavier  significance  upon  the  broad  and  imposing 
staircase  that  rose  from  the  centre  of  the  hall  to  the  duskier 
and  more  dismal  regions  above. 

"  A  brave,  old  fashioned  flight  of  steps  is  it  not  !  But 
the  scene  of  a  curse,  my  child."  And  unheeding  Paula's 
shudder,  she  drew  her  up  the  stairs. 

"  See,"  continued  her  panting  guide  as  they  reached  a 
square  platform  near  the  top,  from  which  some  half  dozen 
or  more  steps  branched  up  on  either  side.  "  They  do  not 
build  like  this  nowadays.  But  Colonel  Japha  believed  in 
nothing  new,  and  thought  more  of  his  grand  old  hall  and 
staircase,  than  he  did  of  all  the  rest  of  his  house.  He  little 
dreamed  of  what  a  scene  it  would  be  the  witness.  But 
come,  it  is  getting  late  and  you  must  see  her  room." 

It  was  near  the  top  of  the  staircase  and  was  fully  as 
musty,  faded  and  dismal  as  the  rest.  Yet  there  was  an  air 
of  expectancy  about  it,  too,  that  touched  Paula  deeply. 
From  between  the  dingy  hangings  of  the  bed,  looked  forth  a 
pair  of  downy  pillows,  edged  with  yellowed  lace,  and  beneath 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  2?$ 

them  a  neatly  spread  counterpane  carefully  turned  back  over 
comfortable-looking  blankets,  as  one  sees  in  a  bed  that  only 
awaits  its  occupant  ;  while  on  the  ancient  hearth,  a  pile  of 
logs  stood  heaped  and  ready  for  the  kindling  match. 

"  It  is  all  waiting  you  see,"  said  the  old  lady  in  a  trem- 
bling voice,  "  like  everything  else,  just  waiting." 

There  was  an  embroidery  frame  in  one  corner  of  the 
room,  from  which  looked  a  piece  of  faded  and  half  completed 
work.  The  needle  was  hanging  from  it  by  a  thread,  and 
a  skein  of  green  worsted  hung  over  the  top,  Paula  glanced 
at  it  inquiringly. 

"  It  is  just  as  she  left  it  !  He  never  entered  the  room 
after  she  went  and  I  would  never  let  it  be  touched.  It  is 
just  the  same  with  the  piano  below.  The  last  piece  she 
played  is  still  standing  open  on  the  rack.  I  loved  her  so,  and 
I  thought  then  that  a  few  months  would  bring  her  back  ! 
See,  here  is  her  bible.  She  never  used  to  read  it,  but  she 
prized  it  because  it  was  her  mother's.  I  have  placed  it  on 
the  pillow  where  she  will  see  it  when  she  comes  to  lay  her 
poor  tired  head  down  to  rest."  And  with  a  reverant  hand 
the  aged  matron  drew  the  curtains  back  from  the  open  bed, 
and  disclosed  the  little  bible  lying  thick  with  dust  in  the 
centre  of  the  nearest  pillow. 

"  O  who  was  this  you  loved  so  well  ?  And  why  did  she 
leave  you  ?  "  cried  Paula  with  the  tears  in  her  eyes,  at  sight  of 
this  humble  token. 

The  aged  lady  seized  her  hand  and  hurried  her  back  into 
the  room  below.  "I  will  tell  you  where  I  have  waited  anJ 


2/4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

watched  so  long.  Only  be  patient  till  I  light  the  lamp.  It 
is  getting  late  and  any  chance  wanderer  going  by  and  seeing 
all  dark,  might  think  I  had  forgotten  my  promise  and  was 
not  here." 


XXV. 

JACQUELINE. 

"  The  cold  in  clime  are  cold  in  blood, 
And  love  as  scarce  deserves  the  name, 
But  mine  is  like  the  lava  flood 
That  burns  in  Etna's  breast  of  flame." 

— BYRON. 

"  THERE  are  some  men  that  have  the  appearance  of 
being  devoid  of  family  affection,  who  in  reality  cherish  it  in 
the  deepest  and  most  passionate  degree.  Such  a  man  was 
Colonel  Japha.  You  have  doubtless  heard  from  your  cradle 
what  the  neighbors  thought  of  this  stately,  old  fashioned 
gentleman.  He  was  too  handsome  in  his  youth,  too  proudly 
reticent  in  his  manhood,  too  self-contained  and  unrelenting 
in  his  age,  not  to  be  the  talk  of  any  town  that  numbered  him 
among  its  inhabitants.  But  only  from  myself,  a  relative  of 
the  family  and  his  housekeeper  for  years,  can  you  learn  with 
what  undeviating  faith  and  love  he  clung  to  the  few  upon 
whom  he  allowed  his  heart  to  fasten  in  affection.  When  he 
married  Miss  Carey,  the  world  said,  "  He  has  chosen  a 
beauty,  because  fine  manners  and  a  pretty  face  look  well 
behind  the  Japha  coffee-urn  !  "  But  we,  that  is,  this  same 
young  wife  and  myself,  knew  that  in  marrying  her  he  had 
taken  unto  himself  his  other  half,  the  one  sweet  woman  for 


2/6  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

whom  his  proud  heart  could  beat  and  before  whom  his 
stately  head  could  bow.  When  she  died,  the  world  ex- 
claimed, '  He  will  soon  fill  her  place  ! '  But  I  who  watched 
the  last  look  that  passed  between  them  in  the  valley  of  the 
shadow  of  that  death,  knew  that  the  years  would  come  and 
the  years  would  go  without  seeing  Colonel  Japha  marry 
again. 

The  little  babe  whom  she  left  to  his  care,  took  all  the  love 
which  he  had  left.  From  the  moment  it  began  to  speak,  he 
centered  in  its  tiny  life  all  the  hope  and  all  the  pride  of  his 
solitary  heart.  And  the  Japha  pride  was  nearly  as  great  as 
the  Japha  heart.  She  was  a  pretty  child  ;  not  a  beauty  like 
her  mother  or  like  you,  my  dear,  who  however  so  nearly  re 
semble  her.  But  for  all  that,  pretty  enough  to  satisfy  the 
eyes  of  her  secretly  doting  father,  and  her  openly  doting 
nurse  and  cousin.  I  say  secretly  doting  father.  I  do  not 
mean  by  that  that  he  regarded  her  with  an  affection  which 
he  never  displayed,  but  that  it  was  his  way  to  lavish  his  ca- 
resses at  home  and  in  the  privacy  of  her  little  nursery.  He 
never  made  a  parade  of  anything  but  his  pride.  If  he  loved 
her,  it  was  enough  for  her  to  know  it.  In  the  street  and  the 
houses  of  their  friends,  he  was  the  strict,  somewhat  severe 
father,  to  whom  her  childish  eyes  lifted  at  first  with  awe,  but 
afterwards  with  a  quiet  defiance,  that  when  I  first  saw  it, 
made  my  heart  stand  still  with  unreasoning  alarm. 

"  She  was  so  reserved  a  child  and  yet  so  deeply  passion- 
ate. From  the  beginning  I  felt  that  I  did  not  understand 
her.  I  loved  her  ;  I  have  never  loved  any  mortal  as  I  did 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  2  77 

her — and  do ;  but  I  could  not  follow  her  impulses  or  judge 
of  her  feelings  by  her  looks. 

"  When  she  grew  older  it  was  still  worse.  She  never 
contradicted  her  father,  or  appeared  in  any  open  way  to  dis- 
obey his  commands,  or  thwart  him  in  his  plans.  Yet  she  al- 
ways did  what  she  pleased,  and  that  so  quietly,  he  frequently 
did  not  observe  that  matters  had  taken  any  other  direction, 
than  that  which  he  had  himself  ordained.  '  It  is  her 
mother's  tact,'  he  used  to  say.  Alas  it  was  something  more 
than  that ;  it  was  her  father's  will  united  to  the  unscrupul- 
ousness  of  some  forgotten  ancestor. 

"  But  with  the  glamour  of  her  eighteen  years  upon  me, 
I  did  not  recognize  this  then,  any  more  than  he.  I  saw  her 
through  the  magic  glasses  of  my  own  absorbing  love,  and 
tremble  as  I  frequently  would  in  the  still  scorn  of  her  un- 
fathomable passion,  I  never  dreamed  she  could  do  anything 
that  would  seriously  offend  her  father's  affection  or  mortify 
his  pride.  The  truth  is,  that  Jacqueline  did  not  love  us. 
Say  what  you  will  of  the  claims  of  kindred,  and  the  right  of 
every  father  to  his  childrens'  regard,  Jacqueline  Japha  ac- 
cepted the  devotion  that  was  lavished  upon  her,  but  she 
gave  none  in  return.  She  could  not,  perhaps.  Her  father 
was  too  cold  in  public  and  too  warm  in  his  home-bursts  of 
affection.  I  was  plain  and  a  widow ;  no  mate  for  her  in  age, 
condition  or  estate.  She  could  neither  look  up  to  me  nor 
lean  upon  me.  I  had  been  her  nurse  in  childhood  and 
though  a  relative,  was  still  a  dependent ;  what  was  there  in 
all  that  to  love  !  If  her  mother  had  lived — But  we  will  not 


2/8  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

dwell  on  possibilities.  Jacqueline  had  no  mother  and  no 
friend  that  was  dear  enough  to  her,  to  teach  her  unwilling 
soul  the  great  lesson  of  self-control  and  sacrifice. 

"  You  will  say  that  is  strange.  That  situated  as  she  was, 
she  ought  to  have  found  friends  both  dear  and  congenial ; 
but  that  would  be  to  declare  that  Jacqueline  was  like  others 
of  her  age  and  class,  whereas  she  was  single  and  alone ;  a 
dark-browed  girl,  who  allured  the  gaze  of  both  men  and 
women,  but  who  cared  but  little  for  any  one  till —  But  wait, 
child.  I  shall  have  to  speak  of  matters  that  will  cause  your 
cheeks  to  blush.  Lay  your  head  down  on  my  knee,  for  I 
cannot  bear  the  sight  of  blushes  upon  a  cheek  more  innocent 
than  hers." 

With  a  gentle  movement  she  urged  Paula  to  sit  upon  a 
little  stool  at  her  feet,  pressed  the  young  girl's  head  down 
upon  her  lap,  and  burying  the  lovely  brow  beneath  her  aged 
hands,  went  hurriedly  on. 

"  You  are  young,  dear,  and  may  not  know  what  it  is  to 
love  a  man.  Jacqueline  was  young  also,  but  from  the  mo- 
ment she  returned  home  to  us  from  a  visit  she  had  been 
making  in  Boston,  I  perceived  that  something  had  entered 
her  life  that  was  destined  to  make  a  great  change  in  her ; 
and  when  a  few  weeks  later,  young  Robert  Holt  from  Bos- 
ton, came  to  pay  his  respects  to  her  in  her  father's  house,  I 
knew,  or  thought  I  did,  what  that  something  was.  We  were 
sitting  in  this  room  I  remember,  when  the  servant-girl  came 
in,  and  announced  that  Mr.  Holt  was  in  the  parlor.  Jacque- 
line was  lying  on  the  sofa,  and  her  father  was  in  his  usual 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  279 

chair  by  the  table.  At  the  name,  Holt,  the  girl  rose  as  if  it 
had  suddenly  thundered,  or  the  lightning  had  flashed.  I  see 
her  now.  She  was  dressed  in  white — though  it  was  early 
fall  she  still  clung  to  her  summer  dresses — her  dark  hair  was 
piled  high,  and  caught  here  and  there  with  old-fashioned 
gold  pins,  a  splendid  red  rose  burned  on  her  bosom,  and 
another  flashed  crimson  as  blood  from  her  folded  hands. 

"  '  Holt  ? '  repeated  the  Colonel  without  turning  his  head, 
'  I  know  no  such  man.' 

" '  He  said  he  wished  to  see  Miss  Jacqueline,'  simpered 
the  servant. 

" '  Oh,'  returned  the  Colonel  indifferently.  He  never 
showed  surprise  before  the  servants — and  went  on  with  his 
book,  still  without  turning  his  head. 

"  I  thought  if  he  had  turned  it,  he  would  scarcely  sit 
there  reading  so  quietly  ;  for  Jacqueline  who  had  not  stirred 
from  her  alert  and  upright  position,  was  looking  at  him  in 
a  way  no  father,  least  of  all  a  father  who  loved  his  child 
as  he  did  her,  could  have  beheld  without  agitation.  It  was 
the  glance  of  a  tigress  waiting  for  the  sight  of  an  inconsid- 
erate move,  in  order  to  spring.  It  was  wild  unconstrainable 
joy,  eying  a  possible  check  and  madly  defying  it.  I 
shuddered  as  I  looked  at  her  eye,  and  sickened  as  I  per- 
ceived a  huge  drop  of  blood  ooze  from  her  white  fingers, 
where  they  unconsciously  clutched  a  thorn,  and  drop  dark 
and  disfiguring  upon  her  virgin  garments.  At  the  indiffer- 
ent exclamation  of  her  father,  her  features  relaxed,  and 
she  turned  haughtily  towards  the  girl,  with  a  veiling  of 


280  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

her  secret  delight  that  already  bespoke  the  woman  of  the 
world. 

"  '  Tell  Mr.  Holt  that  I  will  see  him  presently,'  said  she, 
and  was  about  to  follow  the  girl  from  the  room  when  I 
caught  her  by  the  sleeve. 

" '  You  will  have  to  change  your  dress,'  said  I,  and  I 
pointed  to  the  ominous  blot  disfiguring  its  otherwise  spotless 
white. 

"  She  started  and  gave  me  a  quick  glance. 

"  '  I  have  a  skin  like  a  spider's  web,"  cried  she.  '  I 
should  never  meddle  with  roses.'  But  I  noticed  she  did  not 
toss  the  blossom  away. 

" '  Who  is  this  Mr.  Holt  ? '  now  asked  the  Colonel  sud- 
denly turning,  the  servant  having  left  the  room. 

" '  He  is  a  gentleman  I  met  in  Boston,'  came  from  his 
daughter's  lips,  in  her  usual  light  and  easy  tones.  '  He  is 
probably  passing  through  our  town  on  his  way  to  Provi- 
dence, where  I  was  told  he  did  business.  His  call  is  no 
more  than  a  formality,  I  presume.'  And  with  an  indiffer- 
ent little  smile  and  nod,  she  vanished  from  the  room,  that  a 
moment  before  had  been  filled  with  the  threat  of  her  silent 
passion.  The  Colonel  gave  a  short  sigh  but  returned  undis- 
turbed to  his  book. 

"  In  the  course  of  a  few  minutes  Jacqueline  came  back. 
She  had  changed  her  dress  for  one  as  summerlike  as  the 
other,  but  still  finer  and  more  elaborate.  She  looked  ele- 
gant, imperious,  but  the  joy  had  died  out  from  her  eyes,  and 
in  its  place  was  another  expression  incomprehensible  to  me, 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  28 1 

but  fully  as  alarming  as  any  that  had  gone  before.  '  Mr. 
Holt  finds  himself  obliged  to  remain  in  town  over  night, 
and  would  like  to  pay  his  respects  to  you,'  said  she  to  her 
father. 

"  The  Colonel  immediately  rose,  looking  very  grand  as 
he  turned  and  surveyed  his  daughter  with  his  clear  penetra- 
ting eye.  * 

"  '  You  have  a  lover,  have  you  not  ?  '  he  asked,  laying  his 
hand  on  her  bare  and  beautifully  polished  shoulder. 

"  An  odd  little  smile  crossed  her  lip.  She  looked  at  her 
hands  on  which  never  a  ring  shone,  and  coquettishly  tossed 
her  head.  '  Let  the  gentleman  speak  for  himself,'  said  she, 
'  I  give  no  man  his  title  until  he  has  earned  it.' 

"  Her  father  laughed.  A  lover  was  not  such  a  dreadful 
thing  in  his  eyes  provided  he  were  worthy.  And  Jacqueline 
would  not  choose  unworthily  of  course — a  Japha  and  his 
daughter  !  '  Well  then,'  said  he,  '  let  us  see  if  he  can  make 
good  his  title  ;  Holt  is  not  a  bad  name  and  Boston  is  not  a 
poor  place  to  hail  from.'  And  without  more  ado,  they 
hurried  from  the  room.  But  the  light  had  all  died  out  from 
her  face  !  What  did  it  mean  ? 

"  At  tea  time  I  met  the  gentleman.  He  had  evidently 
made  his  title  good.  I  was  not  only  favorably  impressed 
with  him  but  actually  struck.  Of  all  the  high-bred,  clear- 
eyed,  polished  and  kindly  gentlemen  who  had  sat  about  the 
board  since  I  first  came  into  the  family  in  Mrs.  Japha's  life- 
time, here  was  surely  the  finest,  the  handsomest  and  the  best ; 
and  surprised  in  more  ways  than  one,  I  was  giving  full  play 


282  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

to  my  relief  and  exhiliration,  when  I  caught  sight  of  Jacque- 
line's eye,  and  felt  again  the  cold  shudders  of  secret  doubt 
and  apprehension.  Smile  upon  him  as  she  would,  coquet 
with  him  as  she  did,  the  flame  and  the  glory  that  drew  her 
like  an  inspiration  to  her  feet  when  his  name  was  announced, 
had  fled,  and  left  not  a  shadow  behind.  Had  he  failed  in  his 
expressions  of  devotion  ?  Was  he  hard  or  cold  or  severe, 
under  all  that  pleasant  and  charming  manner?  Had  the 
hot  soul  of  our  motherless  child  rushed  upon  ice,  and  in  the 
shock  of  the  dreadful  chill,  fallen  inert  ?  No,  his  looks  be- 
spake  no  coldness  ;  they  dwelt  upon  Jacqueline's  lovely  but 
inscrutable  face,  with  honest  fervor  and  boundless  regard. 
He  evidently  loved  her  most  passionately,  but  she — if  it  had 
not  been  for  that  first  moment  of  unconscious  betrayal,  I 
should  have  decided  that  she  cared  for  him  no  more  than 
she  did  for  the  few  others  who  had  adored  her,  in  the  short 
space  of  her  incomprehensible  life. 

"  The  mystery  was  not  cleared  up  when  she  came  to  me 
that  night  with  a  short,  '  How  do  you  like  my  -lover,  Mar- 
gery ? '  I  was  forty  years  her  senior,  but  she  always  called  me 
Margery. 

"  '  I  think  he  is  the  finest,  most  agreeable  man  I  ever 
met,'  said  I.  '  Is  he  your  lover,  Jacqueline  ?  Are  you 
going  to  marry  him  ?  ' 

"  She  turned  about  from  the  vase  which  she  was  de- 
nuding of  its  flowers,  and  gave  me  one  of  her  sphinx-like 
looks.  '  You  must  ask  papa,'  said  she.  '  He  holds  the 
destinies  of  the  Japhas  in  his  hand,  does  he  not  ? ' 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  283 

" '  Does  he  ?  '  I  involuntarily  whispered  to  myself  ; 
following  the  steady  poise  of  her  head  and  the  assured 
movements  of  her  graceful  form,  with  a  glance  of 
doubt,  but  loving  her  all  the  same,  O  loving  her  all  and  ever 
the  same  ! 

"  '  Your  father  is  not  the  man  to  cross  you  when  the 
object  of  your  affections  is  as  worthy  as  this  gentleman.  He 
loved  your  mother  too  fondly.' 

"  '  He  did  ? '  She  had  turned  quick  as  a  flash  and  was 
looking  me  straight  in  the  eyes. 

"  '  I  never  saw  such  union  ! '  I  exclaimed,  vaguely  re- 
membering that  her  mother's  name  had  always  seemed  to 
have  power  to  move  her.  '  There  was  no  parade  of  it  before 
the  world  ;  but  here  at  their  own  fireside,  it  was  heart  to 
heart  and  soul  to  soul.  It  was  not  love  it  was  assimilation.' 

"  The  young  girl  rose  upon  me  like  a  flame ;  her  very 
eyes  seemed  to  dart  fire  ;  her  lips  looked  like  living  coals ; 
she  was  almost  appalling  in  her  terrible  beauty  and  superhu- 
man passion.  '  Not  love  ! '  she  exclaimed,  her  every  word 
falling  like  a  burning  spark,  '  not  love  but  assimilation  !  Yet 
do  you  suppose  if  I  told  my  father  that  my  soul  had  found 
its  mate  ;  my  heart  its  other  half;  that  this,  this  nature,' 
here  she  struck  her  breast  as  she  would  a  stone,  '  had  at  last 
found  its  master ;  that  the  wayward  spirit  of  which  you  have 
sometimes  been  afraid,  was  become  a  part  of  another's  life, 
another's  soul,  another's  hope,  do  you  suppose  he  would 
listen  ?  Hush  ! '  she  cried,  seeing  me  about  to  speak.  '  You 
talk  of  love,  what  do  you  know  of  it,  what  does  he  know  of 


284  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

it,  who  saw  his  young  wife  die,  yet  himself  consented  to  live? 
Is  love  a  sitting  by  the  fire  with  hand  locked  in  hand  while 
the  winter  winds  rage  and  the  droning  kettle  sings  ?  Love 
is  z  going  through  the  fire,  a  braving  of  the  winter  winds,  a 
scattering  of  the  soul  in  sparks  that  the  night  and  the  tem- 
pest lick  up  without  putting  out  the  germ  of  the  eternal 
flame.  Love  ! '  she  half  laughed  ;  '  O,  it  takes  a  soul  that 
has  never  squandered  its  treasure  upon  every  passing  beggar, 
to  know  how  to  love  !  Do  you  see  that  star  ?  '  It  was  night 
as  I  have  said  and  we  were  standing  near  an  open  window. 
'  It  has  lost  its  moorings  and  is  falling  ;  when  it  descries  the 
ocean  it  will  plunge  into  it ;  so  with  some  natures,  they  soar 
high  and  keep  their  orbit  well,  till  an  invisible  hand  turns 
them  from  their  course  and  they  fall,  to  be  swallowed  up,  aye 
swallowed  up,  lost  and  buried  in  the  great  sea  that  has 
awaited  them  so  long.' 

"  '  And  you  love — like  this — '  I  murmured,  quailing  be- 
fore the  power  of  her  passion. 

'  Would  it  not  be  strange  if  I  did  not,'  she  asked  in  an 
altered  voice.  '  You  say  he  is  everything  noble,  handsome 
and  attractive.' 

"Yes,  yes,'  I  murmured,  '  but — ' 

"She  did  not  wait  to  hear  what  lay  behind  that  but. 
Picking  up  her  flowers,  she  hastily  crossed  the  room.  '  Did 
my  young  mother  shriek  from  joy,  when  my  father's  horses 
ran  away  with  them  along  that  deadly  precipice  at  the  side 
of  the  Southmore  road  ?  To  lie  for  a  few  maddening  mo- 
ments on  the  breast  of  the  man  you  love,  earth  reeling  be- 


THE   JATHA    MYSTERY.  285 

neath  you,  heaven  swimming  above  you,  and  then  with  a  cry 
of  bliss  to  fall  heart  to  heart,  down  the  hideous  gap  of  some 
awful  gulf,  and  be  dashed  into  eternity  with  the  cry  still  on 
your  lips,  that  is  what  I  call  love  and  that  is  what  I — ' 

"  She  paused,  turned  upon  me  the  whole  splendor  of  her 
face,  seemed  to  realize  to  what  an  extent  her  impetuousity 
had  lifted  the  veil  with  which  she  usually  shrouded  her  bit- 
terly suppressed  nature,  and  calming  herself  with  a  sudden 
quick  movement,  gave  me  a  short  mocking  courtesy  and  left 
the  room. 

"  Do  you  wonder  that  for  half  the  night  I  sat  up  brood- 
ing and  alive  to  the  faintest  sounds  ! 

"  Next  day  Mr.  Holt  called  again,  and  a  couple  of  weeks 
after — long  enough  to  enable  Colonel  Japha  to  make  whatever 
inquiries  he  chose  as  to  his  claims  as  a  gentleman  of  means 
and  position — sent  a  formal  entreaty  for  Jacqueline's  hand. 
.1  had  never  seen  Colonel  Japha  more  moved.  His  admira- 
tion for  the  young  man  was  hearty  and  sincere.  From  a 
worldly  point  of  view,  ds  well  as  from  all  higher  standpoints, 
the  match  was  one  of  which  he  could  be  proud  ;  and  yet  to 
speak  the  word  that  would  separate  from  him  the  only  crea- 
ture that  he  loved,  was  hard  as  the  cutting  off  an  arm  or  the 
plucking  out  of  an  eye.  '  Do  you  think  she  loves  him  ?  ' 
asked  he  of  me  with  a  rare  condescension  of  which  he  was 
not  often  guilty.  'You  are  a  woman  and  ought  to  under- 
stand her  better  than  I.  Do  you  think  she  loves  him  ?' 

"After  the  words  I  had  heard  her  speak,  what  could  I 
reply  but,  '  Yes,  sir  ;  she  is  of  a  reserved  nature  and  controls 


286  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

her  feelings  in  his  presence,  but  she  loves  him  for  all  that, 
with  the  intensest  fervor  and  passion.' 

"He  repeated  again,  'You  are  a  woman  and  you  ought 
to  know.'  And  then  called  his  daughter  to  him. 

"  I  cannot  tell  what  passed  between  them,  but  the  up- 
shot of  it  was,  that  the  Colonel  despatched  an  answer  to 
the  effect  that  the  father's  consent  would  not  be  lacking, 
provided  the  daughter's  could  be  obtained.  I  learned 
this  from  Jacqueline  herself  who  brought  me  the  letter  to 
post. 

"  '  You  see  then,  that  your  father  understands,'  said  I. 

"  Her  rich  red  lip  curled  mockingly,  but  she  did  not 
reply. 

"  Naturally  Mr.  Holt  answered  to  this  communication  in 
person.  Jacqueline  received  him  with  a  fitful  coquetry  that 
evidently  puzzled  him,  for  all  the  distinguishing  charm 
which  it  added  to  a  beauty  apt  to  be  too  reserved  and 
statue-like.  She  however  took  his  ring  which  blazed  on 
her  finger  like  a  drop  of  ice  on  congealed  snow.  '  I  am 
engaged,'  she  murmured  as  she  passed  by  my  door,  '  and 
to  a  Holt ! '  The  words  rang  long  in  my  ears ;  why  ? 

She  desired  no  congratulations  ;  she  permitted  nothing 
to  be  said  about  her  engagement,  among  the  neighbors. 
She  had  even  taken  off  her  ring  which  I  found  lying  loose 
in  one  of  her  bureau  drawers.  And  no  one  dared  to  re- 
monstrate, not  even  her  father,  punctillious  as  he  was  in  all 
matters  of  social  etiquette.  The  fact  is,  Jacqueline  was  not 
the  same  girl  she  had  been  before  she  gave  her  promise  to 


THE    JAPHA    MYSTERY.  28/ 

Mr.  Holt.  From  the  moment  he  bade  her  good-bye,  with 
the  remark  that  he  was  going  away  to  get  a  golden  cage  for 
his  bride,  she  began  to  reveal  a  change.  The  cold  reserve 
gave  way  to  feverish  expectancy.  She  trod  these  rooms  as 
if  there  were  burning  steels  in  the  floors,  she  looked  from 
the  windows  as  if  they  were  prison  bars  ;  night  and  day  she 
gazed  from  them  yet  she  never  went  out.  The  letters  she 
received  from  him  were  barely  read  and  tossed  aside ;  it  was 
his  coming  for  which  she  hungered.  Her  father  noticed  her 
restless  and  eager  gaze,  and  frequently  sighed.  I  felt  her 
strange  removed  manner  and  secretly  wept.  '  If  he  does  not 
amply  return  this  passion,'  thought  I,  '  my  darling  will  find 
her  life  a  hell ! ' 

"  But  he  did  return  it ;  of  that  I  felt  sure.  It  was  my 
only  comfort. 

"  Suddenly  one  day  the  restlessness  vanished.  Her 
beauty  burst  like  a  flame  from  smoke  ;  she  trod  like  a  spirit 
that  hears  invisible  airs.  I  watched  her  with  amazement 
till  she  said  '  Mr.  Holt  comes  to-night,'  then  I  thought  all 
was  explained  and  went  smiling  about  my  work.  She  came 
down  in  the  afternoon  clad  as  I  had  never  seen  her  before. 
She  wore  one  of  her  Boston  dresses  and  she  looked  superb  in 
it.  From  the  crown  of  her  head  to  the  sole  of  her  foot,  she 
dazzled  like  a  moving  picture  ;  but  she  lacked  one  adorn- 
ment ;  there  was  no  ring  on  her  finger.  '  Jacqueline  !  '  cried 
I,  '  you  have  forgotten  something.'  And  I  pointed  towards 
her  hand. 

"  She  glanced  at  it,  blushed  a  trifle  as   I  thought,  and 


288  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

pulled  it  out  of  her  pocket.  '  I  have  it,'  said  she,  'but  it  is 
too  large,'  and  she  thrust  it  carelessly  back. 

"  At  three  o'clock  the  train  came  in.  Then  I  saw  her 
eye  flash  and  her  lip  burn.  In  a  few  minutes  later  two 
gentlemen  appeared  at  the  gate. 

" '  Mr.  Holt  and  his  brother ! '  were  the  words  I  heand 
whispered  through  the  house.  But  I  did  not  need  that  an- 
nouncement to  understand  Jacqueline  at  last. 


XXVI. 

A  MAN'S  JUSTICE  AND  A  WOMAN'S  MERCY. 

"  Fair  is  foul  and  foul  is  fair."          — MACBETH. 

"  Have  you  ever  seen  a  man  whose  instantaneous  effect 
upon  you  was  electrical ;  in  whose  expression,  carriage,  or 
manner,  there  was  concealed  a  charm  that  attracted  and  in- 
terested you,  apart  from  his  actual  worth  and  beauty  ?  Such 
a  one  was  Mr.  Roger  Holt,  the  gentleman  I  now  discerned 
entering  the  gate  with  Jacqueline's  lover.  It  was  not  that 
he  was  handsome.  He  could  not  for  one  moment  bear  any 
comparison  with  his  brother  in  substantial  attraction,  and 
yet  when  they  were  both  in  the  room,  you  looked  at  him  in 
preference  to  the  other,  and  was  vexed  with  yourself  for 
doing  so.  He  seemed  to  be  the  younger  as  he  was  certainly 
the  smaller  ;  yet  he  took  the  lead,  even  in  coming  up  the 
walk.  Why  had  he  not  taken  it  in  the  deeper  and  more  im- 
portant matter  ?  Was  it  because  he  did  not  love  her  ? 

"  I  was  not  present  when  Jacqueline  greeted  her  guests 
and  presented  Mr.  Roger  Holt  to  her  father.  But  later  in 
the  day  I  spent  a  half  hour  with  them  and  saw  enough  to  be 
able  to  satisfy  myself  as  to  the  falsity  of  my  last  supposition. 
Never  had  I  seen  on  a  human  countenance  the  evidences  of 


290  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

a  wilder  passion  than  that  which  informed  his  features,  as  he 
sat  in  the  further  window  of  the  parlor,  presumably  engaged 
in  admiring  the  autumn  landscape,  but  really  occupied  in 
casting  short  side-long  glances  at  Jacqueline,  who  sat  listen- 
ing with  a  superb  nonchalence,  but  with  a  restless  gleam 
in  her  wandering  eye,  to  the  genial  talk  between  her  acknow- 
ledged lover  and  the  Colonel.  I  half  feared  he  would  rise 
from  his  seat,  and  flinging  himself  before  her,  demand  then 
and  there  an  explanation  of  her  engagement. 

"But  beyond  the  impatience  of  those  short  burning 
glances,  he  controlled  himself  well,  and  it  was  Jacqueline 
who  moved  at  last. 

"  I  saw  the  purpose  growing  in  her  eyes  long  before  she 
stirred.  The  face  which  had  been  a  mystery  to  me  from  her 
cradle,  was  in  the  presence  of  this  man,  like  an  open  page 
which  all  might  read.  Its  letters  were  flame,  but  that  did 
not  make  them  any  less  clear.  I  felt  her  swaying  towards 
him,  before  an  eyelash  trembled  or  a  quiver  shook  her  tall 
form.  He  may  have  understood  her  purpose  also,  for  his 
eye  wandered  towards  the  open  piano.  She  rose  like  a 
queen. 

" '  Mr.  Roger  Holt  is  a  singer,'  said  she  in  passing  her 
father,  '  I  am  going  to  ask  him  to  give  us  one  of  the  old 
ballads  you  profess  to  like  so  much.' 

''  The  conversation  at  once  ceased.  The  Colonel  who 
made  no  secret  of  his  fondness  for  music,  turned  at  once 
towards  the  stranger,  with  an  expression  of  great  courtesy. 
Instantly  that  gentleman  rose,  and  meeting  the  request  of 


THE   JAP  HA   MYSTERY.  2$l 

his  hostess  with  a  profound  bow,  proceeded  at  once  to  the 
piano.  '  He  will  not  leave  it  till  he  has  spoken  to  her,' 
thought  I.  Nor  did  he,  for  that  very  moment  as  they  stood 
turning  her  music  over,  I  perceived  his  lips  move  in  a  hurried 
question,  to  which  she  as  briefly  responded,  whereupon  he 
caught  up  a  sheet  of  music  from  the  pile,  and  flinging  back 
his  head  with  a  victorious  smile,  began  to  sing. 

"  Had  I  known  what  lay  behind  his  words,  I  would  have 
braved  everything  rather  than  have  allowed  him  to  utter  a 
note  in  that  room  which  had  once  rung  with  the  carols  of 
Jacqueline's  mother.  But  what  could  I  guess  of  the  possible 
evil  underlying  the  natural  ebullition  of  unrestrained  passion 
that  from  some  cause  of  pride  or  pique,  had  met  with  a 
strange  inexplicable  check.  So  I  sat  still,  shuddering  per- 
haps, but  quiet  in  my  corner ;  while  the  haunting  tones  of 
his  strange  and  thrilling  voice,  rose  and  fell  in  the  most 
uncanny  of  Scottish  love  songs.  Nor  did  I  do  more  than 
wonder  with  all  my  agitated  soul,  when  at  the  conclusion 
Jacqueline  came  back,  and  pausing  beside  the  man  to  whom 
she  had  given  her  troth,  looked  down  in  his  beaming  face 
and  smiled  with  that  overflow  of  delight,  which  she  dared  not 
bestow  upon  his  brother. 

"  Another  little  incident  of  that  hour  remains  engraven 
upon  my  memory.  She  had  been  showing  to  the  gentlemen  a 
rare  plant  that  stood  in  the  front  parlor  window,  and  was  di- 
lating upon  its  marvels,  when  Mr.  Robert  Holt,  her  accepted 
lover,  took  in  his  clasp  the  small  white  hand  wandering  so 
invitingly  among  the  leaves  of  the  huge  palm,  and  glancing 


292  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

at  the  finger  which  should  have  worn  his  ring,  looked  inquir- 
ingly into  her  face. 

"  '  O,'  said  she,  interrupting  her  little  speech  to  draw 
away  her  hand,  '  you  miss  your  diamond  ?  I  have  it,  sir.  It 
lies  very  safe  in  my  pocket  ;  it  is  a  beautiful  gem,  but  your 
ring  does  mt  fit  me.' 

"  The  way  she  said  those  words  and  the  air  with  which 
she  tossed  back  her  head,  must  have  made  one  heart  in  that 
room  beat  joyously,  but  it  did  not  reassure  me  or  subdue  my 
secret  apprehension. 

" '  Not  fit !  '  her  lover  responded ;  and  begged  her  to  al- 
low him  to  try  it  on  and  see,  but  she  shook  her  head  with 
wilful  coquetry,  and  turning  to  the  piano,  commenced  sing- 
ing a  gay  little  song  that  was  like  silver  bells,  shaken  by  a 
sudden  and  mighty  tempest. 

"  Even  the  Colonel  felt  the  change  in  his  daughter, 
though  he  never  guessed  the  cause,  and  came  and  went  dur- 
ing the  evening  that  followed,  with  certain  odd  sighs  that 
made  my  heart  ache  with  strange  forebodings.  Only  her 
lover  was  unconscious,  or  if  he  felt  the  new  and  wayward 
force  and  fire  in  her  manner,  attributed  it  to  his  own  pres- 
ence and  unspeakable  devotion.  Mr.  Roger  Holt,  on  the 
contrary,  thoroughly  understood  it.  Though  he  was  strangely 
calm,  as  calm  now  as  he  had  previously  been  alert  and  fiery, 
he  never  lost  a  gleam  of  her  eye  in  his  direction,  or  a  turn  of 
her  form  towards  the  chair  where  he  sat.  But  the  smile 
with  which  he  contemplated  her  was  not  pleasant  to  me.  It 
was  informed  with  self-consciousness,  and  a  certain  hard 


THE   JAP  HA   MYSTERY.  293 

triumph,  that  made  it  almost  sinister.  '  She  has  given  her 
hand  to  the  true  man/  I  mused,  '  wherever  her  heart  may 
be.  But  had  she  given  it  ? '  I  began  to  doubt  as  I  began 
to  muse.  With  that  uncontrollable  will  of  hers,  she  was 
capable  of  anything  ;  did  she  intend  to  break  with  Robert, 
iOw  that  she  had  seen  Roger  ?  I  detected  no  signs  of  it  be- 
yond the  evident  delight  they  took  in  each  other's  presence. 
They  were  guilty  of  no  further  conversation  of  a  secret  or 
intimate  character,  and  when  with  the  striking  of  the  clock 
at  ten,  Mr.  Robert  Holt  rose  to  leave,  his  brother  followed 
without  any  demur,  even  preceding  him  in  his  departure  and 
limiting  his  farewell  to  a  short  brotherly  pressure  of  Jacque- 
line's fair  hand. 

"  But  much  may  be  conveyed  in  a  pressure,  or  so  I  began 
to  Jhink  as  I  heard  the  low  laugh  that  rippled  from  Jacque- 
line's lips  as  she  turned  to  go  up  to  her  room  ;  and  if  I  had 
been  her  mother — 

"  But  that  is  not  what  you  want  to  hear.  Enough  that  I 
did  not  follow  her,  that  I  did  not  even  acquaint  Colonel 
Japha  with  my  fears,  that  indeed  I  did  nothing  but  lie 
awake,  praying  and  asking  what  I  ought  to  do.  There  had 
been  so  little  said  ;  there  had  been  so  little  done.  A  word, 
a  sentence  between  them,  the  interchange  of  a  couple  of 
songs,  and — What  else  that  I  could  communicate  to  an- 
other ? 

"  A  week,  two  weeks  passed,  and  her  look  of  wilful  hap- 
piness did  not  fly.  She  was  flooded  with  notes  from  her 
accepted  lover,  whose  handwriting  I  had  learned  by  this 


294  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

time  to  distinguish,  but  not  one,  so  far  as  I  could  learn, 
from  any  other  source ;  yet  her  feet  tripped  lightly  through 
the  house,  and  her  form  had  a  rich  grace  in  its  every  move- 
ment, that  bespoke  a  mind  settled  in  some  deep  joy  or  quiet 
determination.  I  felt  the  impenetrability  of  a  secretly  cher- 
ished hope,  whenever  I  looked  at  her.  If  I  had  not  known 
to  the  contrary,  I  should  have  said  that  her  prospective  mar- 
riage had  become  to  her  a  dream  of  unfathomable  delight. 
Whence  then  came  this  rapture  ?  Through  what  communi- 
cation was  born  this  secret  hope  ?  I  could  not  guess,  I 
could  only  watch  and  wait. 

"  Meanwhile  some  random  guesses  at  the  truth  had  been 
made  by  the  neighbors.  Jacqueline  had  a  lover.  That 
lover  was  a  gentleman  ;  but  the  Colonel  was  critical ;  he  had 
refused  his  consent  and  the  young  people  had  parted.  Such 
was  the  talk,  begotten  perhaps  by  the  persistency  with  which 
Jacqueline  remained  in  the  house,  and  the  almost  severe 
look  with  which  Colonel  Japha  trod  the  streets  of  his  native 
village,  which  he  soon  felt  would  lose  all  their  charm  in  the 
departure  of  his  only  child.  I  scarcely  ventured  out  more 
than  Jacqueline ;  for  I  have  but  little  control  over  my  feel- 
ings and  did  not  know  what  I  would  do,  if  any  one  should 
closely  press  me  with  questions. 

"  The  unexpected  discovery  that  our  pretty  young  ser- 
vant girl  was  in  the  habit  of  stealing  into  Jacqueline's  room 
late  at  night,  was  the  first  thing  that  startled  me  into  asking 
whether  or  not  my  supposition  was  true,  that  Jacqueline  re- 
ceived no  messages  from  Mr.  Robert  Holt.  And  scarcely 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY. 

had  I  bec.ome  certain  that  a  clandestine  correspondence  was 
being  carried  on  between  them  through  the  medium  of  this 
girl,  than  the  climax  came,  and  knowledge  on  my  part  and 
secrecy  on  hers  availed  no  longer. 

"  It  was  a  day  in  October.  The  stoves  had  been  put  up 
in  the  house,  and  seeing  Jacqueline  roaming  about  the  halls, 
in  a  renewed  fit  of  that  strange  restlessness  which  had  af- 
fected her  the  day  before  Mr.  Roger  Holt's  visit,  I  went  into 
her  room  to  light  a  fire,  and  make  everything  look  cheerful 
before  dusk.  I  found  the  atmosphere  warm,  and  going  to 
the  stove,  discovered  that  a  fire  had  been  already  kindled 
there,  but  had  gone  out  for  want  of  fuel.  I  at  once  com- 
menced to  rake  away  the  ashes,  in  order  to  make  prepara- 
tions for  a  new  one,  when  I  came  upon  several  scraps  of 
half  burned  paper. 

"  Jacqueline  had  been  burning  letters.  Do  you  blame 
me  for  picking  out  those  scraps  and  hastening  with  them  to 
another  room,  when  I  tell  you  they  were  written  in  a  marked 
and  characteristic  hand  that  bore  little  or  no  resemblance  to 
that  of  her  accepted  lover,  and  that  the  words  which  flashed 
first  upon  my  eye  were  those  ominous  ones  of  my  wife  \ 

"  They  were  three  in  number,  and  while  more  or  less  dis- 
colored and  irregular,  were  still  legible.  Think  child  with 
what  a  thrill  of  horror  and  sharp  motherly  anguish,  I  read 
such  words  as  '  Love  you  !  I  would  press  you  in  my  arms  if 
you  were  plague-stricken  !  The  least  turn  of  your  head 
makes  my  blood  cringe,  as  if  a  flame  had  touched  me.  I 
would  follow  you  on  my  knees,  if  you  led  me  round  the 


296  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

world.  Let  me  see  Robert  take  your  hand  again  and  I 
will—' 

"  '  Forget  you  !  Do  we  forget  the  dagger  that  has  struck 
us  ?  I  am  another  man  since — ' 

"  '  I  will  have  you  if  Robert  goes  mad  and  your  father 
kills  me.  That  I  am  burdened  with  a  wife,  is  nothing. 
What  is  a  wife  that  I  do  not — '  '  You  shall  be  my  true  wife, 
my — ' 

"  '  To-night  then,  be  ready  ;  I  will  wait  for  you  at  the 
gate.  A  little  resolution  on  your  part,  and  then — ' 

"  I  could  read  no  further.  The  living,  burning  truth  had 
forced  itself  upon  me,  that  Jacqueline,  our  darling,  our  pride, 
the  soul  of  our  life,  stood  tottering  upon  the  brink  of  a  gulf 
horrible  as  the  mouth  of  hell.  For  I  never  doubted  for  an 
instant  what  her  answer  would  be  to  this  entreaty.  In  all 
her  past  life,  God  pity  us,  there  had  been  no  tokens  of  that 
immovable  hold  on  virtue,  that  would  save  her  in  such  an  ex- 
tremity as  this.  Nevertheless,  to  make  all  sure,  I  flew  back 
to  her  room,  and  tearing  open  bureau  drawers  and  closet 
doors,  discovered  that  her  prettiest  things  had  been  sent 
away.  She  was  going,  then,  and  on  that  very  night !  and  her 
father  did  not  even  know  she  was  untrue  to  her  betrothed 
lover.  The  horror  of  the  situation  was  too  much  for  me  ;  I 
faltered  as  I  left  her  room,  her  dainty,  maidenly  room,  and 
actually  crouched  against  the  wall  like  a  guilty  thing,  as  I 
heard  the  sound  of  her  voice  singing  some  maddening  strain 
in  the  parlors  below.  What  should  I  do  ?  Appeal  to  her,  or 
warn  her  father  of  the  frightful  peril  in  which  his  honor  and 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  297 

happiness  stood  ?  Alas,  any  appeal  to  her  would  be  useless. 
In  the  glare  of  this  awful  revelation  I  had  come  to  a  full 
comprehension  of  her  nature.  But  her  father  was  a  man  ; 
he  could  command  as  well  as  entreat,  could  even  force  obed- 
ience if  all  other  methods  failed.  To  him,  then,  must  I  go  ; 
but  I  had  rather  have  gone  to  the  rack.  He  was  so  proud  a 
man  !  Had  owned  to  such  undeviating  trust  in  his  daugh- 
ter's honor,  as  a  Japha  and  his  child  !  The  blow  would  kill 
him  ;  or  daze  him  so,  he  might  better  have  been  killed.  My 
knees  shook  under  me,  as  I  traversed  the  hall  to  his  little 
study  over  the  parlor,  and  when  I  came  to  the  door,  I  rather 
fell  against  it  than  knocked,  so  great  was  my  own  anguish, 
and  so  deep  my  terror  of  his.  He  was  a  ready  man  and  he 
came  to  the  door  at  once,  but  upon  seeing  me,  drew  back  as 
if  his  eye  had  fallen  upon  a  phantom. 

1 '  Hush  !  '  said  I,  scarcely  knowing  what  I  uttered  ;  and 
going  in,  I  closed  the  door  and  latched  it  firmly  behind  me. 
'  I  have  come,'  said  I  in  a  voice  that  made  him  start,  '  to  ask 
you  to  save  your  daughter.  She  is  in  deadly  peril ;  she — '  a 
strain  of  her  song  came  in  at  that  moment  from  the  stair- 
case. She  was  ascending  to  her  room.  He  looked  at  me  in 
a  doubt  of  my  sanity. 

' '  Not  physical  peril,'  I  stammered,  '  but  moral.  She 
loves  madly,  unreasonably,  and  with  a  headlong  passion  that 
laughs  at  every  obstacle,  a  man  whom  neither  you  nor 
heaven  can  look  upon  with  aught  but  execration.  She — ' 

"  '  Airs  Hamlin  ! ' — How  well  I  remember  his  cool,  calm 
voice,  so  deliberate  in  his  impressive  moments,  so  deliberate 


298  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

now,  when  perhaps  she  was  donning  hat  and  shawl  for  her 
elopement — '  You  are  laboring  under  a  great  mistake.  In- 
stead of  execrating  Mr.  Holt,  I  admire  him  most  profoundly. 
Since  the  time  has  come  for  me  to  give  up  my  daughter,  I 
know  of  no  one  to  whom  I  would  rather  surrender  her.' 

"  '  But  Mr.  Holt  is  not  the  man,'  I  cried,  half  wild  in  my 
fear  and  desperation.  '  Do  you  remember  the  gentleman 
who  came  with  him  on  his  last  visit  ?  He  called  him  his 
brother,  and  he  is  I  believe,  but — ' 

"  The  way  he  turned  his  grand  white  forehead  towards 
me  at  that,  made  every  fibre  in  my  being  quiver.  '  Jacque- 
line does  not  love  him  I '  exclaimed  he.  How  sharp  his  voice, 
how  changed  his  eye  !  I  shrank  back,  trembling  as  I  bowed 
my  head,  thinking  of  the  word  yet  to  be  said. 

"  '  But  he  won't  compare — '  he  went  on  with  a  severe  in- 
tonation. '  Besides  her  honor  is  engaged.  You  are  dealing 
in  fancies,  Mrs.  Hamlin.' 

"  I  tore  out  of  my  breast  the  scraps  of  paper  which  had 
enlightened  me  so  horribly,  and  held  them  towards  him  ;  then 
bethought  myself,  and  drew  back.  '  I  have  proof,'  said  I ; 
'  but  first  I  must  tell  you  that  Jacqueline  is  not  as  good  a  gir 
as  you  have  thought  her.  She  is  not  her  mother's  child  in 
the  qualities  of  love  and  honor.  She  is  destined  to  bring  a 
great  woe  upon  your  head.  In  her  passion  for  this  man,  she 
has  forgotten  your  trust  in  her,  the  incorruptibility  of  your 
name,  the  honor  of  your  house.  Be  strong,  sir,  for  God  is 
about  to  smite  you  in  your  tenderest  spot. 

"  Ah,  with  what  pride  he  towered  upon  me  !  this  white- 


THE   JAP  HA   MYSTERY.  299 

haired,  stately  gentleman  before  whom  I  had  hitherto  held 
my  breath  in  admiring  awe  ;  towered  upon  me  though  his 
face  was  ghostly  pale  and  his  hand  trembled  like  an  aspen 
as  he  held  it  out ! 

1 '  Give  me  the  papers  you  hold  there,'  cried  he.  '  Either 
you  are  gone  mad,  or  else — Who  wrote  these  lines  ? '  he  de- 
manded, glancing  down  upon  the  hard,  firm  scrawl  that 
blackened  the  bits  of  paper  I  had  given  him. 

"  '  Mr.  Roger  Holt,'  I  returned  unhesitatingly.  '  I  found 
those  bits  in  Jacqueline's  stove.  Her  clothes  have  been 
sent  away,  sir,'  I  continued  as  I  saw  his  face  grow  fixed 
above  the  scraps  he  consulted.  '  Twilight  is  coming  on  and 
— Mr.  Roger  Holt  is  a  married  man  !  ' 

"  '  What  ! ' 

"  I  never  saw  such  a  look  flash  from  a  human  face  as 
that  which  darted  from  his  at  that  terrible  moment.  I 
thought  he  would  have  fallen,  but  he  only  dropped  the 
papers  out  of  his  hand.  '  Heaven  forgive  us  ! '  murmured 
I,  calmed  by  a  sight  of  his  misery,  into  some  semblance  of 
of  self-control,  '  but  we  have  never  understood  Jacqueline. 
She  is  not  to  be  led,  sir,  by  principles  or  duty.  She  loves 
this  man.  and  love  with  her  is  a  stormy  wind,  capable  of 
sweeping  her  into  any  abyss  of  contumely  or  suffering.  If 
you  would  save  her,  kill  her  love  ;  the  death  of  her  lover 
would  only  transform  her  into  a  demon.' 

"  He  looked  at  me  as  if  I  had  told  him  the  world  had 
come  to  an  end.  '  My  Jacqueline  !  '  he  murmured  in  a  low,  in- 
credulous voice  of  the  tenderest  yearning.  '  My  Jacqueline  ! ' 


3OO  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  '  Oh !  '  I  shrieked,  torn  by  my  anguish  for  him  and  the 
terror  of  her  escaping  while  we  were  yet  talking,  '  God 
knows  I  had  rather  have  died  than  contaminate  her  by  such 
words  as  I  have  uttered.  She  is  dear  to  me  as  my  soul ; 
dearer  to  me  than  my  life.  I  have  a  mother's  feeling  for 
her,  sir.  If  to  fling  myself  headlong  from  that  window, 
would  delay  her  feet  from  going  down  the  stairs  to  meet  her 
guilty  lover,  I  would  gladly  do  it.  It  is  her  danger  makes 
me  speak.  O  sir,  realize  that  danger  and  hasten  before  she 
has  taken  the  irrevocable  step.' 

"  He  started  like  a  man  pricked  by  a  sudden  dart.  '  She 
is  going — you  believe  she  is  going  to  meet  him  ? ' 

'"I  do,' said  I. 

He  gave  me  a  terrible  look  and  started  for  the  door.  I 
hurriedly  picked  up  the  scraps  that  had  fallen  to  the  floor, 
and  rushed  around  by  an  inner  passage-way  to  my  own  little 
room,  hiding  my  head  and  waiting  as  for  the  crash  of  a 
falling  avalanche.  Suddenly  a  cry  rose  in  the  hall. 

"  There  are  some  sounds  that  lift  you  unconsciously  to 
your  feet.  Dashing  out  of  my  room,  I  detected  the  face  of 
the  servant-girl  whom  I  have  before  mentioned,  looking  out 
of  her  door  some  distance  down  the  corridor.  Hastening 
towards  her,  I  uttered  some  words  about  her  being  a  busy- 
body, and  thrusting  her  inside  her  room,  locked  the  door 
upon  her.  Then  I  hastened  with  what  speed  I  might  to  the 
front  of  the  house,  and  coming  out  upon  the  grand  staircase, 
met  a  sight  that  shook  me  to  the  very  soul.  You  have  been 
up  the  stairs  ;  you  know  how  they  branch  off  to  left  and 


THE   JAP  HA   MYSTERY,  3OI 

right  from  the  platform  near  the  top.  The  left  branch  led 
in  those  days  to  Colonel  Japha's  room,  the  right  to  the  apart- 
ments occupied  by  Jacqueline  and  myself.  Coming  upon 
them,  then,  as  I  did  from  my  side  of  the  house,  I  found  my- 
self in  full  view  of  the  opposite  approach,  and  there  on  the 
topmost  step  I  beheld  Colonel  Japha,  standing  in  an  atti- 
tude of  awful  denunciation,  while  half  way  down  the  stair- 
case, I  beheld  the  figure  of  Jacqueline,  hindered  in  her 
gliding  course  towards  the  front  door  by  the  terrible,  '  Stop  ! ' 
whose  echo  had  reached  me  in  my  room  and  caused  me  to 
rush  quaking  and  horrified  to  this  spot.  I  leaned  back 
sick  and  horror-stricken  against  the  wall.  There  was  no 
mercy  in  his  voice  :  he  had  awakened  to  a  full  realization  of 
the  situation  and  the  pride  of  the  Japhas  had  made  him 
steel. 

"  '  You  are  my  child  !  "  he  was  saying.  '  I  have  loved 
you  and  do  still ;  but  proceed  one  step  farther  towards  the 
man  that  awaits  you  at  the  gate,  and  the  door  that  opens 
upon  you,  shuts  never  to  open  again  !  ' 

"  '  Colonel  !  '  I  exclaimed,  starting  forward  ;  but  he 
heard  me  no  more  than  he  would  a  fly  buzzing  or  a  bird 
singing. 

"  '  I  desire  it  to  shut ;  I  have  no  wish  to  come  back  ! ' 
issued  from  the  set  white  lips  of  the  girl  •  beneath  us. 
'  There  is  no  such  charm  for  me  in  this  humdrum  house, 
that  I  should  wish  to  exchange  life  with  the  man  I  adore, 
for  its  droning,  spiritless  existence !  '  And  she  lifted  her 
foot  to  proceed. 


3O2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"'Jacqueline!'  I  shrieked,  leaning  forward  in  my  turn, 
and  holding  her  by  my  anguish,  as  I  never  believed  she  could 
be  held  by  anything,  '  Think,  child,  think  what  you  do  !  It 
is  not  life  you  are  going  to  but  death.  A  man  who  can  take 
a  young  girl  from  her  father's  house,  from  her  lover's  arms, 
from  her  mother's  grave,  from  the  shrine  of  all  that  is  pure 
and  holy,  to  dash  her  into  a  pit  of  all  that  is  corrupt,  loath- 
some and  deadly,  is  not  one  with  whom  you  can  live.  You 
say  you  adore  him  :  can  one  adore  falsehood,  selfishness  and 
depravity  ?  Does  hypocrisy  win  love  ?  Can  the  embraces 
of  a  serpent  bring  peace  ?•  Jacqueline,  Jacqueline,  you  are 
yet  pure  ;  come  back  to  our  love  and  our  hearts,  before  we 
die  here  in  our  shame  at  the  head  of  the  stairs,  where  your 
mother  was  carried  out  to  her  grave  ! ' 

"  She  trembled.  I  saw  the  hand  that  clutched  the  banister 
loosen  its  grip  ;  she  cast  one  quick  look  behind  her,  and  her 
eyes  flashed  upon  her  father's  face  ;  it  was  set  like  a  flint. 

" '  If  you  come  back,'  cried  he,  leaning  towards  her,  but 
not  advancing  a  step  from  where  he  stood,  '  you  must  come 
back  of  your  own  free  will.  I  will  hold  no  creature  prisoner 
in  my  house.  I  must  trust  you  implicitly,  or  not  at  all 
Speak  then,  which  shall  it  be  ?  '  And  he  raised  his  hand 
above  his  head,  with  a  supreme  and  awful  gesture,  'a  father's 
blessing  or  a  father's  curse  ?  ' 

"  '  A  father's  curse,  then  !  since  you  command  me  to 
choose,'  rang  out  from  her  lips  in  a  burst  of  uncontrollable 
passion.  '  I  want  no  blessing  that  separates  me  from  him  !  ' 
And  she  pointed  towards  the  door  with  a  look  that,  defiant 


THE    JAPHA   MYSTERY.  303 

as  it  was,  spoke  of  a  terrible  love  before  which  all  our  warn 
ings  and  entreaties  were  but  as  empty  air. 

"'Curses  then  upon  your  head,  slayer  of  a  family's 
honor,  a  father's  love,  and  a  mother's  memory  !  Curses 
upon  you,  at  home  and  abroad  !  in  the  joy  of  your  first  pas- 
sion and  in  the  agony  of  your  last  despair  !  May  you  live  to 
look  upon  that  door  as  the  gateway  to  heaven,  and  find  it 
shut !  May  your  children,  if  you  are  cursed  with  them,  turn 
in  your  face,  as  you  are  turning  now  in  mine  !  May  the 
lightning  of  heaven  be  your  candle,  and  the  blackness  of 
death  your  daily  food  and  your  nightly  drink  !  '  And  with 
a  look  in  which  all  the  terrors  he  invoked,  seemed  to  crash 
downward  from  his  reeling  brain  upon  her  shrinking  terror- 
crouched  head,  he  gave  one  mighty  gasp  and  fell  back 
stricken  to  the  floor. 

"  '  God  ! '  burst  from  her  lips,  and  she  rushed  downwards 
to  the  door  like  a  creature  hunted  to  its  quarry.  I  saw  her 
white  face  gleam  marble-like  in  the  fading  light  that  came  in 
from  the  chinks  about  the  door.  I  saw  her  trembling  hand 
fumbling  with  the  knob,  and  rousing  from  my  stupor,  called 
down  to  her  with  all  the  force  of  a  breaking  heart, 

"  '  Jacqueline,  beware  !  ' 

"  She  turned  once  more.  There  was  something  in  my 
voice  she  could  not  withstand.  '  I  do  not  hope  to  keep  you,' 
cried  I,  '  but  before  you  go,  hear  this.  In  the  days  to  come, 
when  the  face  that  now  beams  upon  you  with  such  longing, 
shall  have  learned  to  turn  from  you  in  weariness,  if  not  dis- 
taste, when  hunger,  cold,  contumely  and  disease  shall  have 


3O4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

blasted  that  fair  brow  and  seared  those  soft  cheeks,  know, 
that  although  a  father  can  curse,  a  woman  who  loves  like  a 
mother  can  forgive.  The  father  cries,  '  Once  go  out  of  that 
door  and  it  shuts  upon  you  never  to  open  !  '  '  Once  come  to 
that  door,  say  I,'  pointing  in  the  direction  of  the  house's 
other  entrance,  '  and  if  I  live  and  if  I  move,  it  shall  open  to 
you,  were  you  as  defiled  and  wretched  and  forsaken  as  Mag- 
dalen. Remember  !  Each  day  at  this  hour  will  I  watch 
for  you,  kneeling  upon  its  threshold.  In  sickness  or  in 
health,  in  joy  or  in  sorrow,  in  cold  or  in  heat.  The  hour  of 
six  is  sacred.  Some  one  of  them  shall  see  you  falling  weep- 
ing on  my  breast ! ' 

"  She  gave  me  a  quick  stare  out  of  her  wide  black  eyes, 
then  a  mocking  smile  curled  her  lips,  and  murmuring  a 
short,  'You  rave! '  opened  the  door,  and  rushed  out  into  the 
falling  dusk.  With  a  resounding  clang  like  the  noise  of  a 
stone  rolled  upon  an  open  grave,  the  great  door  swung  to, 
and  I  was  left  alone  in  that  desolated  house  with  my  stricken 
master. 


XXVII. 

THE  LONE  WATCHER. 

"  Hark  !  to  the  hurried  question  of  Despair, 
Where  is  my  child  ?— and  Echo  answers — Where  ?  "       — BYRON. 

"  COLONEL  JAPHA  recovered  from  his  shock,  but  was 
never  the  same  man  again.  All  that  was  genial,  affectionate 
and  confiding  in  his  nature,  had  been  turned  as  by  a  light- 
ning's stroke,  to  all  that  was  hard,  bitter  and  suspicious.  He 
would  not  allow  the  name  of  Jacqueline  to  be  spoken  in  his 
presence  ;  he  would  listen  to  no  allusion  made  to  those  days 
when  she  was  the  care  and  perplexity,  but  also  the  light  and 
pleasure  of  the  house.  Men  are  not  like  women,  my  child  ; 
when  they  turn,  it  is  at  an  angle,  the  whole  direction  of  their 
nature  changes. 

"  Perhaps  the  news  that  presently  came  to  us  from  Boston 
may  have  had  something  to  do  with  this.  It  was  surely 
dreadful  enough ;  Jacqueline's  perfidy  had  slain  her  lover. 
Mr.  Robert  Holt,  the  cultured,  noble,  high-souled  gentleman, 
had  been  found  lying  dead  on  the  floor  of  his  room,  a  few- 
days  after  the  events  I  have  just  related,  with  a  lady's  dia- 
mond ring  in  his  hand  and  the  remnants  of  a  hastily  burned 
letter  in  the  grate  before  him.  He  had  burst  a  blood-vessel, 
and  had  expired  instantly. 

"  This  sudden  and  tragic  ending  of  a  man  of  energy  and 


306  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

will,  was  also  the  reason,  perhaps,  why  Grotewell  never  ar- 
rived at  the  truth  of  Jacqueline's  history.  Boston  was  a  long 
way  from  here  in  those  days,  and  the  story  of  her  lover's 
death  was  not  generally  known,  while  the  fact  of  her  elope- 
ment was.  Consequently  she  was  supposed  to  have  fled  with 
the  man  who  had  been  seen  to  visit  her  most  frequently  ;  a 
report  which  neither  the  Colonel  nor  myself  had  the  courage 
to  deny. 

"  My  child,  you  have  a  brow  like  snow,  and  a  cheek  like 
roses  ;  you  know  little  of  life's  sorrows  and  little  of  life's 
sins.  To  you  the  skies  are  blue,  the  woods  vernal,  the  air 
balmy ;  the  sad  looks  upon  men's  and  women's  faces,  tell  but 
shallow  tales  of  the  ceaseless  grinding  of  grief  in  their  pent 
up  souls.  But  you  are  gentle,  and  you  have  an  imagination 
that  goes  beyond  your  experience  ;  perhaps  if  you  pause  and 
think,  you  can  understand  what  a  tale  could  be  told  of  the 
weeks  and  months  and  years  that  now  followed,  without  hint 
or  whisper  of  the  fate  of  her  who  had  gone  out  from  amongst 
us  with  the  brand  of  her  father's  curse  upon  her  brow.  At 
first  we  hoped,  yes,  he  hoped, — I  could  see  it  in  his  eyes 
when  there  came  a  sudden  ring  at  the  bell, — that  some  sign 
of  her  penitence,  or  some  proof  of  her  existence,  would  come 
to  relieve  the  torture  of  our  fears,  if  not  the  shame  of  our  mem- 
ories. But  the  door  that  closed  upon  her  on  that  fatal  eve, 
had  shut  without  an  echo.  While  we  vainly  waited,  time  had 
ample  leisure  to  carve  the  furrows  of  age  as  well  as  of  suffer- 
ing on  the  Colonel's  once  smooth  brow,  and  to  change  my 
daily  vigil  into  a  custom  of  despair,  rather  than  of  hope. 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  3O/ 

Time  had  also  leisure  to  rob  us  of  much  of  our  worldly  goods 
and  to  make  our  continued  living  in  this  grand  old  house, 
an  act  that  involved  constant  care  and  the  closest  economy. 
That  we  were  enabled  to  preserve  appearances  to  the  day 
that  beheld  the  Colonel  laid  low  by  the  final  stroke  of  hb 
dread  disease,  was  only  due  to  the  secret' charity  of  a  certain 
gentleman,  who,  declaring  he  was  indebted  to  us,  secretly 
supplied  me  with  means  of  support. 

"But  of  all  this  you  care  little. 

"  You  had  rather  hear  about  the  evening  watch  with  its 
hopeful  assurance,  '  Yet  another  day  and  she  will  be  here/ 
to  be  followed  so  soon  by  the  despairing  acknowledgement, 
'  Yet  another  day  and  she  has  not  come  !  '  or  of  those  dark 
hours  when  the  Colonel  lay  blank  and  white  upon  his  pillow, 
with  his  eyes  fixed  on  the  door  which  would  never  open  to 
the  beating  of  a  daughter's  heart,  while  the  gray  shadow  of 
an  awful  resolution  deepened  upon  his  immovable  face. 
What  that  resolution  was  I  could  not  know,  but  I  feared  it, 
when  I  saw  what  a  sternness  it  gave  to  his  eye,  what  a  fixed- 
ness to  his  set  and  implacable  lip  ;  and  when  in  the  waning 
light  of  a  certain  December  afternoon,  the  circle  of  neigh- 
bors about  his  bed  gave  way  to  the  stiff  and  forbidding  form 
of  Mr.  Phelps,  I  felt  a  thrill  of  mortal  apprehension  and  only 
waited  to  hear  the  short,  '  It  shall  be  done,'  of  the  lawyer  to 
some  slowly  whispered  command  of  the  colonel,  to  rise  from 
my  far  off  corner  and  stand  ready  to  accost  Mr.  Phelps  as  he 
came  from  the  bedside  of  the  dying  man. 

"  '  What  is  it  ? '  I  asked,  rushing  up  to  him  as  he  issued 


308  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

forth  into  the  hall,  and  seizing  him  by  the  arm,  with  a 
woman's  unreasoning  impetuousity.  'I  have  nursed  his. 
daughter  on  my  knee  ;  tell  me,  then,  what  it  is  he  has  ordered 
you  to  do  in  this  final  moment  ?  ' 

"  Mr.  Phelps  for  all  his  ungainly  bearing,  is  not  a  hard- 
hearted man,  as  you  know,  and  he  doubtless  saw  the  depth 
of  the  misery  that  made  me  forget  myself.  Giving  me  a 
look  that  was  not  without  its  touch  of  sarcasm,  he  replied, 
'  The  colonel  has  made  me  promise,  to  see  that  a  plank  is 
nailed  across  the  front  door  of  this  house,  after  his  body  has 
been  carried  out  to  burial.' 

"  A  board  across  the  front  door  !  His  anger  then  was 
implacable.  The  withering  curse  that  had  rung  in  my  ears 
for  ten  years,  was  to  outlive  his  death !  With  a  horrified 
groan,  I  pressed  my  hands  over  my  eyes  and  rushed  back. 
My  first  glimpse  of  the  Colonel's  face  showed  me  that  the 
end  was  at  hand,  but  that  fact  only  made  more  imperative 
my  consuming  desire  to  see  that  curse  removed,  even  though 
it  were  done  with  his  final  breath.  Drawing  near  his  bed- 
side, I  leaned  down,  and  waiting  till  his  eye  wandered  to  my 
face,  asked  him  if  there  was  nothing  he  wished  amended 
before  his  strength  failed.  He  understood  me.  We  had  not 
sat  for  so  long,  face  to  face  across  the  chasm  of  a  hideous 
memory,  without  knowing  something  of  the  workings  of 
each  other's  mind.  Glancing  up  at  his  wife's  portrait  which 
ever  faced  him  as  he  lay  upon  his  pillow,  his  mouth  grew 
severe  and  he  essayed  to  shake  his  head.  I  at  once  pointed 
to  the  portrait. 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  309 

"  'What  will  you  say  to  her  when  she  meets  you  on  the 
borders  of  heaven  ? '  I  demanded  with  the  courage  of  de- 
spair. 'She  will  ask,  'Where  is  my  child?'  And  what 
will  you  reply  ?  ' 

"  The  fingers  that  lay  upon  the  coverlid  moved  spasmodi- 
cally ;  he  eyed  me  with  a  steady  deepening  stare,  awful  to 
meet,  fearful  to  remember.  I  went  on  steadily  ;  '  She  has 
gone  out  of  this  house  with  your  curse ;  tell  me  that  if  she 
comes  back,  she  maybe  greeted  with  your  forgiveness.'  Still 
that  awful  stare  which  changed  not.  '  I  have  watched  and 
waited  for  her  every  day  since  her  departure,'  I  whispered,' 
'  and  shall  watch  and  wait  for  her,  every  day  until  I  die. 
Shall  a  stranger's  love  be  greater  than  a  father's  ? '  This 
time  his  lips  twitched  and  the  grey  shadow  shifted,  but  it 
did  not  rise.  '  I  had  sworn  to  do  it,'  I  went  on.  '  When 
you  lay  there  at  the  top  of  the  stairs,  smitten  down  by  your 
first  shock,  I  told  her,  come  sickness,  come  health,  I  should 
keep  a  daily  vigil  at  that  door  of  the  house  which  your  sever- 
ity had  not  closed  upon  her ;  and  I  have  kept  my  word  till 
now  and  shall  keep  it  to  the  end.  What  will  you  do  for 
this  miserable  child  of  whose  being  you  are  the  author  ? ' 

"  With  indescrible  anxiety  I  paused  and  watched  him,  for 
his  lips  were  moving.  '  Do  for  her  ?  '  he  repeated. 

"  How  awful  is  the  voice  of  the  dying  !  I  shivered  as  I 
listened,  but  drew  near  and  nearer,  that  I  might  lose  no  word 
that  came  from  his  stony  lips. 

" '  She  will  not  come,'  gasped  he,  with  an  effort  that  raised 
him  up  in  bed,  and  deepened  that  horrible  stare,  'but — ' 


3io  THE  SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES. 

"Who  shall  say  what  he  might  have  uttered  if  Death's 
hand  had  delayed  a  single  instant,  but  the  inexorable  shadow 
fell,  and  he  never  finished  the  sentence. 

"  My  child,  these  are  frightful  things  for  you  to  hear. 
God  knows  I  would  not  assail  your  pure  ears  with  a  tale 
like  this,  if  it  were  not  for  the  help  and  sympathy  I  hope  to 
gain  from  you.  Sin  is  a  hideous  thing  ;  the  gulf  it  opens  is 
wide  and  deep ;  well  may  it  be  said  to  swallow  those  who 
trust  themselves  above  its  flower-hung  brink.  But  we  who 
are  human,  owe  something  to  humanity.  Love  stops  not  be- 
cause of  the  gulf  ;  love  follows  the  sinner  with  wilder  and 
more  heart-breaking  longing,  the  deeper  and  deeper  he  sinks 
into  the  illimitable  darkness.  Ten  years  have  passed  since 
we  laid  the  Colonel  away  in  the  burying-place  of  all  the 
Japhas,  and  dutiful  to  his  last  request,  nailed  up  the  front 
door  of  his  speedily  to  be  forsaken  mansion.  In  all  that 
time  my  watch  has  remained  unbroken  in  this  house,  which 
by  will  he  had  left  to  me,  but  which  I  secretly  hold  in  trust 
for  her.  The  hour  of  six  has  found  me  at  my  post,  some- 
times elate  with  hope,  sometimes  depressed  with  repeated 
disappointments,  but  whether  hopeful  or  sad,  always  trust- 
ful that  the  great  God  who  Himself  so  loved  all  sinners,  that 
He  gave  the  life  of  His  Son  to  rescue  them,  would  ulti- 
mately grant  me  the  desire  of  my  heart.  But  the  decrepitude 
of  age  is  coming  upon  me,  and  each  morning  I  leave  my 
bed,  with  growing  fear  lest  my  infirmities  will  increase  until 
they  finally  overcome  my  resolution.  Child,  if  this  should 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  31 1 

happen,  if  lying  in  my  bed  I  should  some  day  hear  that  she 
had  come  back,  and  failing  to  find  the  lamp  burning  and  the 
welcome  ready,  had  gone  away  again — But  the  thought  is 
madness.  I  cannot  bear  it.  A  sinner,  lost,  degraded,  suffer- 
ing, starving,  perhaps,  is  wandering  this  way.  She  is  hard- 
ened and  old  in  guilt  ;  she  has  drunk  the  cup  of  life's  pas- 
sions and  found  them  corrupting  poison ;  all  that  was  lovely 
and  pure  and  good  has  withdrawn  from  her ;  she  stands 
alone,  shut  off  by  her  sin,  like  a  wild  thing  in  a  circle  of 
flame.  What  shall  touch  this  soul  ?  The  preacher's  voice 
has  no  charm  for  her;  good  men's  advice  is  but  empty  air. 
God's  love  must'be  mirrored  in  human  love,  to  strike  an  eye 
so  unused  to  looking  up.  Where  shall  she  find  such  love  ? 
It  is  all  that  can  rescue  her;  love  as  great  as  her  sin,  as 
boundless  as  her  degradation,  as  persistent  as  her  suffering. 
Child—" 

"  I  know  what  you  are  going  to  say,"  suddenly  exclaimed 
Paula,  rising  up  and  confronting  Mrs.  Hamlin  with  a  steady 
high  look  of  determination.  "  In  the  day  of  your  weakness 
or  illness  you  want  some  one  to  unlock  the  door  and  light 
the  lamp.  You  have  found  her  !  " 


XXVIII. 

SUNSHINE   ON    THE    HILLS. 

"  If  I  speak  to  thee  in  Friendship's  name, 

Thou  think'st  I  speak  too  coldly  ; 
If  I  mention  Love's  devoted  flame, 
Thou  say'st  I  speak  too  boldly." — MOORE. 

THE  story  told  by  Mrs.  Hamlin  had  a  great  effect  upon 
Paula,  not  only  on  account  of  its  own  interest  and  the 
promise  it  had  elicited  from  her,  but  because  of  the  remem- 
brances it  revived  of  Mr.  Sylvester  and  her  life  in  New  York. 
Any  vision  of  evil  or  suffering,  any  experience  that  roused 
the  affections  or  awakened  the  sensibilities,  could  not  fail  to 
recall  to  her  mind  the  forcible  figure  of  Mr.  Sylvester  as  he 
stood  that  day  by  his  own  hearthstone,  talking  of  the  temp- 
tations that  assail  humanity  ;  and  any  reminiscence  of  him 
must  necessarily  bring  with  it  much  that  charmed  and 
aroused.  For  a  week,  then,  she  felt  the  effect  of  a  great 
unsettlement.  Her  village  home  appeared  a  prison ;  she 
longed  to  run,  soar — anything  to  escape  ;  the  horizon  was 
full  of  beckoning  hands.  A  brooding  melancholy  settled 
upon  her  reveries  ;  the  prospect  of  a  life  spent  in  the  narrow 
circle  to  which  she  had  endeavored  to  re-accustom  herself, 
became  unendurable. 

Thus  it  is  with  us.   "We  slide  in  a   groove   and  seem 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  313 

happy,  when  suddenly  a  book  we  read,  a  story  we  hear,  an 
experience  we  encounter,  shakes  us  out  of  our  content,  and 
makes  continuance  in  the  old  course  a  violation  of  the  most 
demanding  instincts  of  our  nature. 

In  the  full  tide  of  this  unrest,  Paula  went  out  for  a  soli- 
tary walk  on  the  hills.  Nature  can  soothe  if  she  cannot 
satisfy.  Then  the  day  itself  was  one  to  make  the  soul  glad 
and  the  heart  rejoice.  As  the  young  girl  trod  the  meadows, 
she  wondered  that  she  could  be  sad.  Earth  and  air  were 
so  full  of  splendor.  Nature  seemed  to  be  in  league  with  the 
angels  of  light.  September  stood  upon  the  earth  like  a  god- 
dess of  might  and  glory.  Every  tint  of  green  that  variegated 
the  mountain-side,  wooed  the  eye  with  suggestions  of  un- 
fathomable beauty.  A  bough  of  scarlet  flame  lit  here  and 
there  amid  the  verdure,  served  to  illuminate  the  woods  as  for 
the  passage  of  a  king ;  and  not  Solomon  in  all  his  glory  ever 
wore  an  aspect  more  sumptuous  than  the  flowers  that  flecked 
the  meadow  and  fringed  the  hardy  roadside  with  imperial 
purple.  A  wind  was  blowing,  a  keen  but  kindly  breeze, 
laden  with  sweetness  and  alert  to  awaken  ^Eolian  airs  from 
the  boughs  of  whistling  beech  and  alder.  Even  the  low  field 
grasses  seemed  to  partake  in  the  general  cheer,  and  nodded 
to  each  other  with  a  witching  and  irresistible  abandon. 
Had  a  poet  been  at  her  side,  or  any  one  capable  of  divining 
the  hidden  things  of  nature,  what  a  commentary  to  all  their 
united  thoughts  she  would  have  found  in  the  delicious  trem- 
ble of  the  laughing  leaves,  in  the  restless  music  of  the  run- 
away brooks,  in  the  lowly  crickets  with  their  single  song,  in 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES 

the  cloud-haunting  birds  with  their  trailing  melodies,  and  in 
all  the  roll  and  rumble  of  earth's  commingled  noises.  Al- 
luring as  was  the  book  of  nature,  she  could  not  read  it  alone. 

O  * 

She  felt  the  lack  of  a  loving  hand  to  turn  the  page.  "Is  it 
that  I  am  lonely  !  "  she  murmured. 

The  thought  deepened  her  trouble.  Coming  down  from 
the  hillside,  she  entered  a  skirting  of  woods  that  ran  along 
by  the  river.  Here  she  had  always  found  peace  and  some 
of  her  richest  treasures  of  thought.  Thrpugh  this  opaline 
archway  she  had  walked  with  her  fancies,  like  Saint  Cathe- 
rine with  her  lily.  It  was  sacred  to  all  that  was  sweet  and 
deep  and  pure  within  her.  "  Lonely  !  "  she  whispered  ;  "  I 
will  not  be  lonely.  To  some  God  gives  years  of  happy  com- 
panionship ;  to  others  but  a  day.  Shall  one  complain  be- 
cause it  has  fallen  to  his  portion  to  have  the  lesser  share  ?  I 
will  remember  my  one  day  and  be  glad." 

"  My  one  day  !  "  She  caught  herself  at  the  utterance  and 
literally  started  at  the  suggestion  it  offered.  There  was  but 
one  person  whom  she  had  seen  but  for  a  day.  Could  she 
have  been  thinking  of  him  ? 

With  a  flush  deep  as  the  autumn  leaves  she  carried,  she 
was  hurrying  on,  when  suddenly  in  the  opening  before  her, 
a  shadow  fell,  and  a  mellow  voice  exclaimed  in  her  ear, 

"  Do  I  meet  Miss  Fairchild  in  her  native  woods  ?  " 

It  was  Clarence  Ensign. 

The  surprise  was  very  great  and  it  took  her  a  moment  to 
steady  herself.  She  had  felt  so  assured  that  she  should 
never  see  him  or  any  other  of  her  New  York  friends  again. 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  315 

Had  not  Cicely  written  that  he  had  gone  West,  soon  after 
her  own  departure  from  New  York.  With  a  deepening  of 
his  voice  Mr.  Ensign  repeated  the  question. 

At  once  the  day  seemed  to  acquire  all  it  had  hitherto 
lacked.  Looking  up,  she  met  his  eye  fixed  admiringly  upon 
her,  and  all  that  was  merry,  lightsome  and  gay  within  her, 
leaped  at  once  to  the  surface.  Ignoring  his  question  with 
smiling  abandon,  she  exclaimed, 

"  What  shall  be  done  to  the  man  whp  delights  in  sur- 
prises and  startles  timid  maidens  without  a  cause  ?  " 

"  He  shall  be  held  in  captivity  by  the  hand  of  his  de- 
nouncer, until  he  has  sued  for  pardon  and  obtained  her  gen- 
erous forgiveness,"  returned  he,  holding  out  his  palm. 

She  barely  touched  it  with  her  own.  "  I  see  that  your 
repentance  is  sincere,  so  your  pardon  shall  be  speedy," 
laughed  she. 

"  Your  discrimination  is  at  fault,  I  never  felt  more  im- 
penitent in  my  life.  I  am  a  hardened  wretch,  Miss  Fair- 
child,  a  hardened  wretch  !  But  you  do  not  ask  me  from 
what  corner  of  the  earth  I  have  come.  You  take  me  too 
much  for  granted  ;  like  the  chirrup  of  a  squirrel,  let  me  say. 
or  the  whistle  of  a  bullfinch.  But  perhaps  you  think  I  in- 
habit these  woods  ?" 

"  No ;  but  a  day  like  this  is  so  full  of  miracles,  why 
should  we  be  astonished  at  one  more !  I  suppose  you  came 
on  the  train,  but  should  not  be  surprised  to  hear  you  started, 
like  Pluto,  from  the  earth.  Anything  seems  possible  in  such 
a  sunshine." 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  You  are  right,  and  I  have  sprung  from  the  earth.  I 
have  been  buried  five  mortal  months  in  a  lawsuit  out  west, 
or  else  I  should  have  been  here  before.  I  hope  my  delay  has 
made  me  none  the  less  welcome." 

He  was  holding  back  a  branch  as  he  spoke,  and  his  eyes 
were  on  a  level  with  hers.  She  felt  caught  as  in  a  net,  and 
struggled  vainly  to  keep  down  her  color.  "  No,"  said  she, 
"welcome  is  a  guest's  due,  whether  he  come  early  or 
late.  I  should  be  sorry  to  be  lacking  in  the  duties  of  a 
hostess,  though  my  drawing-room  is  somewhat  more  spacious 
than  cosy,"  she  continued,  looking  around  on  the  fields  into 
which  they  had  emerged,  "  and  my  facilities  for  bespeaking 
you  welcome  greater  than  my  power  to  make  you  comfort- 
able." 

"  Comfort  is  a  satisfaction  of  the  mind,  rather  than  of  the 
body.  I  am  not  ^comfortable,  Miss  Fairchild."  Then  as 
he  stooped  to  relieve  her  of  half  her  burden  of  trailing  leaves 
and  flowers,  he  exclaimed  in  a  matter-of-fact  tone,  "  Your 
aunt  is  a  notable  woman,  Miss  Fairchild,  I  admire  her 
greatly." 

"  What !  "  said  she,  "  you  have  been  to  the  cottage  ?  You 
have  seen  Aunt  Belinda  ?  " 

"  Of  course,"  laughed  he,  "  or  how  should  I  be  here  ? 
You  have  been  sent  for,  Miss  Fairchild,  and  I  am  the  hum- 
ble bearer  of  your  aunt's  commands.  But  I  forget,  the  prac- 
tical has  nothing  to  do  with  such  a  day.  I  am  supposed  to 
have  sprung  from  the  ground,  and  to  know  by  instinct,  just 
in  what  nook  you  were  hiding  from  the  sunlight.  Very  well, 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  3 1/ 

I  acknowledge  that  instinct  is  sometimes  capable  of  going 
a  great  way." 

But  this  time  her  ready  answer  was  lacking.  She  was 
wondering  what  her  aunt  would  think  of  this  sudden  appear- 
ance of  a  stranger  whose  name  she  had  never  so  much  as 
mentioned. 

"  It  is  a  pleasant  rest  to  stand  and  look  at  a  view  like 
that,  after  a  summer  of  musty  labor,"  said  he,  gazing  up  the 
river  with  a  truly  appreciative  eye.  "  I  do  not  wonder  you 
carry  the  charm  of  the  wild  woods  in  your  laugh  and  glance, 
if  you  have  been  brought  up  in  the  sight  of  such  a  view  as 
that." 

"It  has  been  my  meat  and  drink  from  childhood,"  said 
she,  and  wondered  why  she  wanted  to  say  no  more  upon 
her  favorite  theme. 

"  Yet  you  tell  me  you  love  the  city  ?  " 
"  Too  much  to  ever  again  be  happy  here." 
It  was  a  slip  for  which  her  cheek  burned  and  her  lids 
fell,  the  moment  after.  She  had  been  thinking  of  Mr.  Syl- 
vester, and  unconsciously  spake  as  she  might  have  done,  if 
he  had  been  at  her  side,  instead  of  this  genial-hearted  young 
man.  With  a  woman's  instinctive  desire  to  retrieve  herself, 
she  hurriedly  continued,  "  Life  is  so  full  and  large  and 
deep  in  a  great  town,  if  you  are  only  happy  enough  to  meet 
those  who  are  its  blood  and  brain  and  sinew.  One  misses 
the  rush  of  the  great  wheel  of  time  in  a  spot  like  this.  The 
world  moves,  but  we  do  not  feel  it ;  it  is  like  the  quiet  sweep 
of  the  stars  over  our  heads.  But  in  the  city,  days,  weeks 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

and  months  make  themselves  felt.  The  universe  jars  under 
the  feet  of  hurrying  masses.  The  story  of  the  world  is  being 
written  on  pavement,  corridor,  and  dome,  so  that  he  who 
runs  may  read.  One  realizes  he  is  alive  ;  the  unit  is  part  of 
the  multiple.  To  those  who  are  tired,  God  gives  the  rest  of 
the  everlasting  hills,  but  to  those  who  are  eager,  he  holds 
out  the  city  with  its  innumerable  opportunities  and  incen- 
tives. And  I  am  eager,"  she  said.  "  The  flower  blooms  on 
the  mountain,  and  its  perfume  is  sweet,  but  the  chariot 
sings  as  it  rushes,  and  the  noise  of  its  wheels  is  music  in  my 
ears." 

She  paused,  turned  her  face  to  the  breeze,  and  seemed 
to  forget  she  was  not  alone.  Clarence  Ensign  eyed  her  with 
astonishment ;  he  had  never  heard  her  speak  like  this ;  the 
earnest  side  of  her  great  nature  had  never  been  turned 
towards  him  before,  and  he  felt  himself  shrink  into  insignifi- 
cance in  its  presence.  What  was  he  that  he  should  pluck  a 
star  from  the  heavens,  to  buckle  on  his  breast  !  Wealth  and 
position  were  a  match  for  beauty  great  as  hers,  and  a  kind 
heart  current  coin  all  the  world  over,  for  a  gentle  disposi- 
tion and  a  loving  nature ;  but  for  this — He  turned  away  and 
in  his  abstraction  switched  his  foot  with  his  cane. 

"  Then  it  was  in  New  York  that  I  met  Cicely,"  exclaimed 
Paula. 

He  shook  off  his  broodings,  turned  with  a  manful  gesture, 
and  met  her  sweet  unfathomable  eye,  so  brilliant  with  enthu- 
siasm a  moment  ago,  but  at  this  instant  so  softly  deep  and 
tender. 


THE   JAP  HA   MYTSERY.  319 

"And  the  friendship  of  Miss  Stuyvesant  is  a  precious 
thing  to  you  ?  "  said  he. 

"  Few  things  are  more  so,"  was  her  reply. 

He  bit  his  lip  and  his  brow  grew  lighter.  After  all,  great 
souls  frequently  cling  to  those  of  lesser  calibre,  provided  they 
are  true  and  unflawed.  He  would  not  be  discouraged.  But 
his  tone  when  he  spoke  had  acquired  a  reverence  that  did 
not  lessen  its  music.  "  You  are,  then,  one  of  the  few  women 
who  believe  in  friendship  ?  " 

"  As  I  believe  in  heaven." 

Looking  at  her,  he  took  off  his  hat.  Her  eye  stole  to  his 
serious  countenance.  "  Miss  Stuyvesant  is  to  be  envied," 
said  he. 

"Are  friends  so  rare  ?  " 

"  Such  friends  are,"  said  he. 

She  gave  him  a  bright  little  look.  "  Had  you  been  with 
Miss  Stuyvesant,  and  she  had  expressed  herself  as  I  have 
done,  you  would  have  said,  '  Miss  Fairchild  is  to  be  envied,' 
and  you  would  have  been  nearer  the  truth  than  now.  Cicely's 
friendship  is  to  mine  what  an  unbroken  mirror  is  to  a  little 
racing  brook.  It  reflects  but  one  image,  while  mine — "  She 
could  not  go  on.  How  could  she  explain  to  this  stranger 
that  Cicely's  heart  was  undivided  in  its  regard,  while  hers 
owned  allegiance  to  more  than  her  bosom  friend. 

"  If  I  were  with  Miss  Stuyvesant  now,"  he  declared,  too 
absorbed  in  his  own  ideas  to  notice  the  break  in  hers,  "  I 
should  still  say  in  face  of  this  friendship,  '  Miss  Stuyve- 
sant is  to  be  envied.'  I  have  no  mind  for  more  than  one 


32O  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

thought  to-day,"  exclaimed  he,  with  a  look  that  made  her 
tremble. 

There  are  some  men  who  never  know  in  what  field  to 
stay  the  current  of  their  impetuosity  :  Clarence  Ensign  did. 
He  said  no  more  than  this  of  all  that  was  seething  in  his 
mind  and  heart.  He  felt  that  he  must  prove  himself  a  man, 
before  he  exercised  a  man's  privilege.  Besides,  his  temper- 
ament was  mercurial,  and  never  remained  long  under  the 
bondage  of  a  severe  thought,  or  an  impressive  tone  of  mind. 
He  worshipped  the  lofty,  but  it  was  with  tabor  and  cym- 
bal and  high-sounding  lute.  A  climb  over  the  stile  at 
the  foot  of  the  hill  was  enough  to  restore  him  to  himself. 
It  was  therefore  with  merry  eyes  and  laughing  lips  that 
they  approached  the  house  and  entered  Miss  Belinda's 
presence. 

There  are  some  persons  whose  prerogative  it  is  to  carry 
sunshine  with  them  wherever  they  go.  Clarence  Ensign  was 
one  of  these.  Without  an  effort,  without  any  display  of  in- 
congruous hilarity,  he  always  succeeded  by  the  mere  joyous- 
ness  of  his  own  nature,  in  calling  forth  all  that  was  bright 
and  enjoyable  in  others.  When  therefore  they  stepped  into 
the  quaint  old-fashioned  parlor,  all  prepared  to  receive  them, 
Paula  was  not  surprised  to  perceive  it  brighten,  and  her 
aunts'  faces  grow  cheerful  and  smiling.  Who  could  meet 
Clarence  Ensign's  laughing  eye  and  not  smile  ?  What  did 
astonish  her,  however,  was  the  sight  of  an  elegant  basket  of 
hot-house  flowers  perched  on  a  table  in  the  centre  of  the 
room.  It  made  her  pause,  and  cast  looks  of  inquiry  at  the 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  321 

demure  countenance  of  Miss  Abby,  and  the  quietly  satisfied 
expression  of  her  more  thoughtful  aunt. 

"  A  remembrance  from  the  city  !  "  said  Mr.  Ensign  grace- 
fully. "  I  thought  it  might  help  to  recall  some  happy  hours 
to  you." 

With  a  swelling  of  the  heart  which  she  could  not  under- 
stand, she  leaned  over  the  ample  cluster  of  roses  and  helio- 
trope. She  felt  as  though  she  could  embrace  them  ;  they 
were  more  than  flowers,  they  were  the  visible  emblem  of  all 
she  had  missed,  and  for  which  she  had  longed  these  many 
months. 

"  I  seem  to  receive  the  whole  in  the  part,"  said  she. 

He  may  or  may  not  have  understood  her,  but  he  saw  she 
was  gratified,  and  that  was  sufficient.  The  afternoon  flew  by 
on  wings  of  light.  Miss  Belinda,  who  was  not  accustomed 
to  holidays,  but  who  thoroughly  appreciated  them  when  they 
came,  entered  into  the  conversation  with  zest;  while  Miss 
Abby's  unconscious  expressions  of  pleasure  were  too  naive 
not  to  add  to,  rather  than  detract  from  the  general  enjoy- 
ment. The  twilight,  with  its  good-bye,  came  all  too  soon. 

"  I  have  a  request  to  make  before  I  go,"  said  Mr.  En- 
sign. He  was  standing  alone  with  Paula  in  the  embrasure 
of  the  window,  a  few  moments  before  his  departure.  "  When 
we  see  a  flower  nodding  on  a  ledge  above  our  heads,  we  long 
for  it  ;  I  have  heard  you  talk  of  friendship,  and  a  great  de- 
sire has  seized  me.  Miss  Fairchild  will  you  be  my  friend  ?  " 

She  gave  him  a  startled  glance  that,  however,  soon  settled 
into  a  mellow  radiant  look  of  sympathy  and  pleasure. 


322  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  That  is  asking  for  something  which  if  I  hesitate  to 
accord,  it  is  because  the  word,  '  friend,'  carries  with  it  so 
much,"  said  she,  with  a  sweet  seriousness  that  disarmed  her 
words  of  any  latent  sting  they  might  otherwise  have  con- 
tained. 

"I  know  it,"  he  replied,  "and  I  am  very  bold  to  ask  it 
upon  so  slight  an  acquaintance ;  but  life  is  short  and  real 
treasure  is  so  scarce.  You  will  not  deny  me,  Miss  Fair- 
child  ? "  Then  seeing  her  look  down,  hastily  continued,  "  I 
have  acquaintances  by  the  score — friends  who  style  them- 
selves thus,  by  the  dozen,  but  no  friend.  I  want  one  ;  I 
want  you  for  that  one.  Will  you  be  it  ?  I  shall  be  jealous 
though,  I  warn  you,"  he  went  on,  with  a  cropping  out  of  his 
mirthful  nature;  "  I  shall  not  be  pleased  to  observe  the  circle 
widened  indefinitely.  I  shall  want  my  own  place  and  no  one 
else  in  my  place." 

"  No  one  else  can  fill  the  place  once  given  to  a  friend. 
Each  one  has  his  own  niche." 

"  And  I  am  to  have  mine  ?  "  His  look  was  firm,  his  eye 
steadfast. 

"Yes,"  she  breathed. 

With  a  proud  stooping  of  his  head,  he  took  her  hand 
and  kissed  it.  The  action  became  him  ;  he  was  tall  and 
well  made,  and  gallantry  induced  by  feeling,  sat  well  upon 
him.  In  spite  of  herself,  she  thought  of  old-time  stories 
of  the  Norse  chivalry  ;  he  stood  so  radiant  and  bent  so 
low. 

"  I  shall  prize  my  friend  at  her  queenly  value,"  said  he ; 


THE   JAPHA    MYSTERY.  323 

and  without  more  ado,  uttered  his  farewell  and  took   his 
departure. 

"  Paula  !  " 

The  young  girl  started  from  a  reverie  which  had  held  her 
for  a  long  time  enchained  at  that  fast  darkening  window, 
and  hastily  looking  up,  perceived  her  Aunt  Belinda  standing 
before  her,  with  her  eye  fixed  upon  her  face,  with  a  kind  but 
searching  glance. 

"Yes,  aunt." 

"  You  have  not  told  me  who  this  Mr.  Ensign  is.  In  all 
the  letters  you  wrote  me  you  did  not  mention  his  name,  I 
think." 

"  No,  aunt.  The  fact  is,  I  did  not  meet  him  until  a,  few 
days  before  I  left,  and  then  only  for  an  evening,  you  might 
say." 

"  Indeed  !  that  one  evening  seems  to  have  made  its  im- 
pression. Tell  me  something  about  him,  Paula." 

"  His  own  countenance  speaks  for  him  better  than  I  can, 
aunt.  He  is  good  and  he  is  kind  ;  an  honest  young  man, 
who  need  fear  the  eye  of  no  one.  He  is  wealthy,  I  am  in- 
formed, and  the  son  of  highly  respected  parents.  He  was 
first  presented  to  me  by  Miss  Stuyvesant,  whose  friend  he  is, 
afterwards  by  Mr.  Sylvester.  His  coming  here  was  a  sur- 
prise to  me." 

Miss  Belinda's  firm  mouth,  which  had  expanded  at  this 
dutiful  response,  twitched  with  a  certain  amused  expression 
over  this  last  announcement.  Eying  her  niece  with  unre- 


324  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

lenting  inquiry,  she  pursued,  "  You  have  not  been  happy  for 
the  last  few  weeks,  Paula.  Our  life  seems  narrow  to  you  ; 
you  long  to  fly  away  to  larger  fields  and  more  expansive 
skies." 

With  a  guilty  droop  of  her  head,  Paula  stole  her  hand 
into  that  of  her  aunt's. 

"  I  do  not  wonder,"  continued  Miss  Belinda,  still  watch- 
ing the  flushing  cheek  and  slightly  troubled  mouth  of  the 
lovely  girl  before  her.  "  I  once  breathed  other  air  myself, 
and  know  well  what  charms  lie  beyond  these  mountains.  In 
giving  you  up  for  awhile,  I  gave  you  up  forever,  I  fear." 

"  No,  no,"  whispered  the  young  girl,  "  I  am  always  yours 
wherever  I  go.  Not  that  I  am  going  away,"  she  hastily  mur- 
mured. 

Her  aunt  smiled  and  gently  stroked  her  niece's  hand. 
"  When  the  time  comes,  I  shall  bid  you  God  speed,  Paula. 
I  am  no  ogress  to  tie  my  dove's  wings  to  her  nest.  Love  and 
the  home  it  provides  are  the  natural  lot  of  women.  None 
feel  it  more  than  those  who  have  missed  both." 

"  Aunt  !  "  Paula  was  shocked  and  perplexed.  A  break- 
ing wave  full  of  doubts  and  possibilities,  seemed  to  dash  over 
her  at  this  suggestion. 

"  Young  men  of  judgment  and  principle  do  not  come  so 
many  miles  to  see  a  youthful  maiden,  without  a  purpose," 
continued  her  aunt  inexorably.  "  You  know  that,  do  you 
not,  Paula  ?  " 

"  Yes ;  but  the  purpose  may  differ  in  different  cases," 
returned  the  young  girl  hurriedly.  "  I  would  not  like  to 


THE   JAPHA   MYSTERY.  325 

believe  that  Mr.  Ensign  came  here  with  the  one  you  give  him 
credit  for — not  yet.  You  trouble  me,  aunt,"  pursued  she, 
glancing  tremulously  about.  "  It  is  like  opening  a  great  door 
flooded  with  sunshine,  upon  eyes  scarcely  strong  enough  to 
bear  the  glimmer  sifting  through  its  cracks.  I  feel  humiliated 
and — "  She  did  not  finish,  perhaps  her  thought  itself  was  in- 
complete. 

"  If  a  light  comes  sifting  through  the  cracks,  I  am  satis- 
fied," said  her  aunt  in  a  lighter  tone  than  common.  And  she 
kissed  her  niece,  and  went  smiling  out  of  the  room,  murmur- 
ing to  herself, 

"  I  have  been  over-fearful ;  everything  is  coming  right." 
There  are  moments  when  life's  great  mystery  overpowers 
us  ;  when  the  riddle  of  the  soul  flaunts  itself  before  us  un- 
explained, and  we  can  do  no  more  than  stand  and  take  the 
rush  of  the  tide  that  comes  sweeping  down  upon  us.  Paula 
was  not  the  girl  she  was  before  she  went  to  New  York. 
Love  was  no  longer  a  dreamy  possibility,  a  hazy  blending  of 
the  unknown  and  the  fancied  ;  its  tale  had  been  too  often 
breathed  in  her  ear,  its  reality  made  too  often  apparent  to 
her  eye.  But  love  to  which  she  could  listen,  was  as  new  and 
fresh  and  strange,  as  a  world  into  which  her  foot  had  never 
ventured.  That  her  aunt  should  point  to  a  certain  mascufine 
form,  no  matter  how  attractive  or  interesting,  and  say,  "  Love 
and  home  are  the  lot  of  women,"  made  her  blood  rush  back 
on  her  heart,  like  a  stream  from  which  a  dam  has  been 
ruthlessly  wrenched  away.  It  was  too  wild,  too  sudden  ;  a 
friend's  name  was  so  much  easier  to  speak,  or  to  contemplate. 


326  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

She  did  not  know  what  to  do  with  her  own  heart,  made  to 
speak  thus  before  its  time  ;  its  beatings  choked  her  ;  every- 
thing choked  her ;  this  was  a  worse  imprisonment  than  the 
ot-ier.  Looking  round,  her  eye  fell  upon  the  flowers.  Ah, 
was  not  their  language  expressive  enough,  without  this  new 
suggestion  ?  They  seemed  to  lose  something  in  this  very 
gain.  She  liked  them  less  she  thought,  and  yet  her  feet  drew 
near,  and  near,  and  nearer,  to  where  they  stood,  exhaling 
their  very  souls  out  in  delicious  perfume.  "I  am  too 
young  !  "  came  from  Paula's  lips.  "  I  will  not  think  of  it !  " 
quickly  followed.  Yet  the  smile  with  which  she  bent  over 
the  fragrant  blossoms,  had  an  ethereal  beauty  in  it,  which 
was  not  all  unmixed  with  the 

"  Light  that  never  was  on  land  or  sea, 
The  consecration  and  the  poet's  dream." 

"  He  has  asked  to  be  my  friend,"  murmured  she,  as  she 
slowly  turned  away.  "  It  is  enough  ;  it  must  be  enough." 
But  the  blossom  she  had  stolen  from  the  midst  of  the  fra- 
grant collection,  seemed  to  whisper  a  merry  nay,  as  it  nodded 
against  her  hand,  and  afterwards  gushed  out  its  sweet  life 
on  her  pure  young  breast. 


XXIX. 

MIST    IN    THE    VALLEY. 

"The  true  beginning  of  our  end." 

—MIDSUMMER  NIGHT'S  DREAM. 

MR.  ENSIGN  was  not  slow  in  developing  his  ideas  of 
friendship.  Though  he  did  not  venture  upon  repeating  his 
visit  too  soon,  scarcely  a  week  passed  without  bringing  to 
Paula  a  letter  or  some  other  testimonial  of  his  increasing  de- 
votion. The  blindest  eye  could  not  fail  to  remark  whither 
he  was  tending.  Even  Paula  was  forced  to  acknowledge  to 
herself  that  she  was  on  the  verge  of  a  flowery  incline,  that 
sooner  or  later  would  bring  'her  up  breathless  against  the 
dread  alternative  of  a  decided  yes  or  no.  Friendship  is  a 
wide  portal,  and  sometimes  admits  love  ;  had  it  served  her 
traitorously  in  this  ? 

Her  aunt  who  watched  her  with  secret  but  lynx-eyed  scru- 
tiny, saw  no  reason  to  alter  the  first  judgment  of  that  myste- 
rious, "  It  is  all  coming  right,"  with  which  she  viewed  the 
first  symptoms  of  Paula's  girlish  appreciation  of  her  lover. 
If  eyes  and  lips  could  speak,  Paula  was  happy.  The  mourn- 
ful shadows  which  of  late  had  flitted  with  more  or  less  per- 
sistency over  her  face,  had  vanished  in  a  living  smile,  which 
if  not  deep,  was  cloudlessly  radiant ;  and  her  voice  when  not 


328  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

used  in  speech,  was  rippling  away  in  song,  as  glad  as  a  finch's 
on  the  mountain  side. 

Miss  Belinda  was  therefore  very  much  astonished  when 
one  day  Paula  burst  into  her  presence,  and  flinging  herself 
down  on  her  knees,  threw  her  arms  about  her  waist,  crying, 

"  Take  me  away,  dear  aunt,  I  cannot,  dare  not  stay  here 
another  day." 

"  Paula,  what  do  you  mean?"  exclaimed  Miss  Belinda, 
holding  her  back  and  endeavoring  to  look  into  her  face. 
But  the  young  girl  gently  resisted. 

"  I  have  just  had  a  letter  from  Cicely,"  she  returned  in 
a  low  and  muffled  voice.  "  She  has  seen  Mr.  Sylvester,  and 
says  he  looks  both  wan  and  ill.  He  told  her,  too,  that  he 
was  lonely,  and  I  know  what  that  means ;  he  wants  his 
child.  The  time  has  come  for  me  to  go  back.  He  said  it 
would,  and  that  I  would  know  when  it  came.  Take  me, 
aunt,  take  me  to  Mr.  Sylvester." 

Miss  Belinda,  to  whom  self-control  was  one  of  the  cardi- 
nal virtues,  leaned  back  in  her  chair  and  contemplated  the 
eager,  tear-stained  face  that  was  now  raised  to  hers,  with 
silent  scrutiny.  "  Paula,"  said  she  at  last,  "  is  that  your  only 
reason  for  desiring  to  return  to  New  York  ?  " 

A  flush,  delicate  as  it  was  fleeting,  swept  over  the  dew  of 
-Paula's  cheek.  She  rose  to  her  feet  and  met  her  aunt's 
eye,  with  a  look  of  gentle  dignity.  "  No,"  said  she,  "  I  wish 
to  test  myself.  Birds  that  are  prisoned  will  caress  any  hand 
that  offers  them  freedom.  I  wish  to  see  if  the  lure  holds 
good  when  my  wings  are  in  mid-heaven."  . 


THE   JAP  HA   MYSTERY.     x  329 

There  was  a  dreamy  cadence  to  her  voice  as  she  uttered 
that  last  phrase,  that  startled  her  aunt.  "  Paula,"  exclaimed 
she,  "  Paula,  don't  you  know  your  own  heart  ?  " 

"  Who  does  ?  "  returned  Paula  ;  then  in  a  sudden  rush  of 
emotion  threw  herself  once  more  at  her  aunt's  side,  saying, 
"  It  is  in  order  to  know  it,  that  I  ask  you  to  take  me  away." 

And  Miss  Belinda,  as  she  smoothed  back  her  darling's 
locks,  was  obliged  to  acknowledge  to  herself,  that  time  has  a 
way  of  opening,  in  the  stream  of  life,  unforeseen  channels  to 
whose  current  we  perforce  must  yield,  or  else  hopelessly 
strand  upon  the  shoals. 


BOOK   IV. 

FROM   A.  TO  Z. 

XXX. 

MISS   BELINDA  PRESENTS   MR.  SYLVESTER  WITH    A  CHRISTMAS 

GIFT. 

*'  For,  O  ;  for,  O  the  hobby  horse  is  forgot" 

— HAMLET. 

IT  was  a  clear  winter  evening.  Mr.  Sylvester  sat  in  his 
library,  musing  before  a  bright  coal  fire,  whose  superabun- 
dant heat  and  blaze  seemed  to  make  the  loneliness  of  the 
great  empty  room  more  apparent.  He  had  just  said  to  him- 
self that  it  was  Christmas  eve,  and  that  he,  of  all  men  in  the 
world,  had  the  least  reason  to  realize  it,  when  the  door-bell 
rang.  He  was  expecting  Bertram,  whose  advancement  to 
the  position  of  cashier  in  place  of  Mr.  Wheelock,  now  thor- 
oughly broken  down  in  health,  had  that  day  beea  fully  de- 
termined upon  in  a  late  meeting  of  the  Board  of  Directors. 
He  therefore  did  not  disturb  himself.  It  was  consequently 
a  startling  surprise,  when  a  deep,  pleasant  voice  uttered  from 
the  threshold  of  the  door,  "  I  have  brought  you  a  Christ- 
mas present ;  "  and  looking  up,  he  saw  Miss  Belinda  stand- 
ing before  him,  with  Paula  at  her  side. 

"My  child!  "  was  his  involuntary  exclamation,  and  be- 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  331 

fore  the  young  girl  knew  it,  she  was  folded  against  his  breast 
with  a  passionate  fervor  that  more  than  words,  convinced 
her  of  the  depth  of  the  sacrifice  which  had  held  them  sepa- 
rate for  so  long.  "  My  darling  !  my  little  Paula  !  " 

She  felt  her  heart  stand  still.  Gently  disengaging  her- 
self, she  looked  in  his  face.  She  found  it  thin  and  wan,  but 
lit  by  such  a  pleasure  she  could  not  keep  back  her  smile. 
"  You  are  glad,  then,  of  your  little  Christmas  present  ?  "  said 
she. 

He  smiled  and  shook  his  head  ;  he  had  no  words  with 
which  to  express  a  joy  like  this. 

Miss  Belinda  meanwhile  stood  with  a  set  expression  on 
her  face,  that,  to  one  who  did  not  know  her,  would  immedi- 
ately have  proclaimed  her  to  be  an  ogress  of  the  very  worst 
type.  Not  a  glance  did  she  give  to  the  unusual  splendor 
about  her,  not  a  wavering  of  her  eye  betokened  that  she  was 
in  any  way  conscious  that  she  had  just  stepped  from  the 
threshold  of  a  very  humble  cottage,  into  a  home  little  short 
of  a  palace  in  size  and  the  splendor  of  its  appointments. 
All  her  attention  was  concentrated  on  the  two  faces  before 
her. 

"  The  ride  on  the  cars  has  made  Paula  feverish,"  cried 
she,  in  sharp  clear  tones  that  rang  with  unexpected  brusque- 
ness  through  the  curtained  alcoves  of  that  lordly  apartment. 

They  both  started  at  this  sudden  introduction  of  the 
prosaic  into  the  hush  of  their  happy  meeting,  but  remember- 
ing themselves,  drew  Miss  Belinda  forward  to  the- fire  and 
made  her  welcome  in  this  house  of  many  memories. 


332  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

It  was  a  strange  moment  to  Paula  when  she  first  turned 
to  go  up  those  stairs,  down  which  she  had  come  in  such  grief 
eight  months  or  more  ago.  She  found  herself  lingering  on 
its  well-remembered  steps,  and  the  first  sight  of  the  rich 
bronze  image  at  the  top,  struck  her  with  a  sense  of  the  old- 
time  pleasure,  that  was  not  unlinked  with  the  old-time 
dread.  But  the  aspect  of  her  little  room  calmed  her.  It 
was  just  as  she  had  left  it ;  not  an  article  had  been  changed. 
"  It  is  as  if  I  had  gone  out  one  door  and  come  in  another," 
she  whispered.  All  the  months  that  had  intervened  seemed 
to  float  away.  She  felt  this  even  more  when  upon  again  de- 
scending, she  found  Bertram  in  the  library.  His  frank  and 
interesting  face  had  always  been  pleasant  to  her,  but  in  the 
joy  of  her  return  it  shone  upon  her  with  almost  the  attrac- 
tion of  a  brother's.  "  I  am  at  home  again,"  she  kept  whis- 
pering to  herself,  "  I  am  at  home." 

Miss  Belinda  was  engrossed  in  conversation  with  Ber- 
tram, so  that  Paula  was  left  free  to  take  her  old  place  by 
Mi.  Sylvester's  side,  where  she  sat  with  such  an  aspect  of 
contentment,  that  her  beauty  was  half  forgotten  in  her  hap- 
piness. 

"  You  remembered  me,  then,  sometimes  in  the  little 
cottage  in  Grotewell?  "  asked  he,  after  a  silent  contemplation 
of  her  countenance.  "  I  was  not  forgotten  when  you  left 
the  city  streets  ?  " 

She  answered  with  a  bright  little  shake  of  her  head,  but 
she  was  inwardly  wondering  as  she  looked  at  his  strong  and 
picturesque  face,  with  its  nobly  carved  features  and  melan- 


FROM  A.TO  Z.  333 

choly  smile,  if  he  had  been  absent  from  her  thoughts  for 
so  much  as  a  moment,  in  all  these  dreary  months  of  separa- 
tion. 

"  I  did  not  believe  you  would  forget,"  he  gently  pursued, 
"  but  I  scarcely  dared  hope  you  would  lighten  my  fireside 
with  your  face  again.  It  is  such  a  dismal  one,  and  youth  is 
so  linked  to  brightness." 

The  flush  that  crossed  her  cheek,  startled  him  into  sud- 
den silence.  She  recovered  herself  and  slowly  shook  her 
head.  "  It  is  not  a  dismal  one  to  me.  I  always  feel  brighter 
and  better  when  I  sit  beside  it.  I  have  missed  your 
counsel,"  she  said  ;  "  brightness  is  nothing  without  depth." 

His  eyes  which  had  been  fixed  on  her  face,  turned  slowly 
away.  He  seemed  to  hold  an  instant's  communion  with 
himself  ;  suddenly  he  said,  "And  depth  is  worse  than  noth- 
ing, without  it  mirrors  the  skies.  It  is  not  from  shadowed 
pools,  such  bright  young  lips  should  drink,  but  from  the 
waves  of  an  inexhaustible  sea,  smote  upon  by  all  the  winds 
and  sunshine  of  heaven." 

In  another  moment,  however,  he  was  all  cheerfulness. 
"  You  have  brought  me  a  Christmas  present,"  cried  he,  "  and 
we  must  make  it  a  Christmas  holiday  indeed.  Here  is  the 
beginning  :  "  and  with  one  of  his  old  grave  smiles,  he  handed 
Bertram  a  little  note  which  had  been  awaiting  him  on  the 
library  table.  "  But  Paula  and  Miss  Belinda  must  have 
their  pleasure  too.  Paula,  are  you  too  tired  for  a  ride  down 
town  ?  I  will  show  you  New  York  on  a  Christmas  eve,"  con- 
tinued he  to  Miss  Walton,  seeing  that  Paula's  attention  was 


334  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

absorbed  by  the  expression  of  sudden  and  moving  surprise 
which  had  visited  Bertram's  face,  upon  the  perusal  of  his 
note.  "It  is  a  stirring  sight.  Nothing  more  cheering  can 
be  found  the  wide  world  over,  for  those  who  have  a  home 
and  children  to  make  happy." 

"  I  certainly  should  enjoy  a  glimpse  of  holiday  cheer," 
assented  Miss  Belinda.  And  Paula  recalled  to  herself  by 
the  sound  of  her  aunt's  voice,  gayly  re-echoed  her  assertion. 

So  Samuel  was  despatched  for  a  carriage,  and  in  a  few 
minutes  they  were  all  riding  down  Fifth  Avenue,  en  route  for 
Tiffany's,  Macy's,  and  any  other  store  that  might  offer  spe- 
cial attractions.  It  was  a  happy  company.  As  they  rolled 
along,  Paula  felt  her  heart  grow  lighter  and  lighter,  Mr. 
Sylvester  was  almost  gay,  while  even  Aunt  Belinda  conde- 
scended to  be  merry.  Bertram  alone  was  silent,  but  as 
Paula  caught  short  glimpses  of  his  face,  while  speeding  past 
some  illuminated  corner,  she  felt  that  it  was  that  silence 
which  is  "  the  perfectest  herald  of  joy." 

"  I  shall  make  you  get  out  and  mix  with  the  crowd,"  said 
Mr.  Sylvester.  "  I  want  you  to  feel  the  throb  of  the  great 
heart  of  the  city  on  such  a  night  as  this.  It  is  as  if  all  men 
were  brothers — or  fathers,  I  should  say.  People  that  ordi- 
narily pass  each  other  without  a  sign,  nod  and  smile  with 
pleasing  recognition  of  the  evening's  cheer.  Grave  and 
reverend  seigniors,  are  not  ashamed  to  be  seen  carrying  pack- 
ages by  the  dozen.  Indeed,  he  who  is  most  laden  is  consid- 
ered the  best  fellow,  and  he  who  is  so  unfortunate  as  to  show 
nothing  but  empty  arms,  feels  shy  if  not  ashamed  ;  a  condi- 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  335 

tion  of  mind  into  which  I  shall  soon  fall  myself,  if  we  do  not 
presently  reach  our  destination." 

Paula  never  forgot  that  night.  As  from  the  midst  of  our 
commonplace  memories,  some  one  hour  stands  out  distinct 
and  strange,  like  a  sweet  foreigner  in  a  crowd  of  village 
faces,  so  to  Paula,  this  ride  through  the  lighted  streets,  with 
the  ensuing  rush  from  store  to  store,  piloted  by  Bertram  and 
Miss  Belinda,  and  protected  by  Mr.  Sylvester,  was  her  one 
weird  glimpse  into  the  Arabian  Nights'  country.  Why,  she 
could  not  have  told ;  why,  she  did  not  stop  to  think.  She  had- 
been  to  all  these  places  before,  but  never  with  such  a  heart 
as  this — never,  never  with  such  an  overflowing  heart  as  this. 

"  I  have  washed  away  my  reproach,"  cried  Mr.  Sylvester, 
coming  out  to  the  carriage  with  his  arms  full  of  bundles. 
"  Aunt  Belinda  is  to  blame  for  this  ;  she  set  the  example, 
you  see."  And  with  a  merry  laugh,  he  tossed  one  thing 
after  another  into  Paula's  lap,  reserving  only  one  small  pack- 
age for  himself.  "  I  scarcely  know  what  I  have  bought," 
said  he.  "  I  shall  be  as  much  surprised  as  any  one,  when 
you  come  to  undo  the  bundles.  '  A  pretty  thing,'  was  all  I 
waited  to  hear  from  the  shop  girls." 

"  There  is  a  small  printing  press  for  one  thing,"  cried 
Paula  merrily.  "  I  saw  the  man  at  Holton's  eye  you  with  a 
certain  sort  of  shrewd  humor,  and  hastily  do  it  up.  You 
paid  for  it  ;  probably  thinking  it  one  of  the  '  pretty  things.' 
We  shall  have  to  make  it  over  to  Bertram,  as  being  the  only 
one  amongst  us  who  by  any  stretch  of  imagination  can  be 
said  to  be  near  enough  the  age  of  boyhood  to  enjoy  it." 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  I  do  not  know  about  that,"  cried  Bertram,  with  a  ring- 
ing infectious  laugh,  "my  imagination  has  been  luring  me 
into  believing  that  I  am  not  the  only  boy  in  this  crowd." 

And  so  they  went  on,  toying  with  their  new-found  joy  as 
with  a  plaything,  and  hard  would  it  have  been  to  tell  in 
which  of  those  voices  rang  the  deeper  contentment. 

The  opening  of  the  packages  on  the  library-table  afforded 
another  season  of  merriment.  Such  treasures  as  came  to 
light  !  A  roll  of  black  silk,  which  could  only  have  been 
meant  for  Miss  Belinda.  A  casket  of  fretted  silver,  just  large 
enough  to  hold  Paula's  gloves ;  a  scarf-ring,  to  which  no  one 
but  Bertram  could  lay  claim  ;  a  bundle  of  confections,  a  pair 
of  diamond-studded  bracelets,  a  scarf  of  delicate  lace,  articles 
for  the  desk,  and  knick-knacks  for  the  toilet  table,  and  last, 
but  not  least,  in  weight  at  least,  the  honest  little  printing- 
press. 

"  Oh,  I  never  dreamed  of  this,"  said  Paula,  "  when  we 
chose  Christmas  eve  for  our  journey." 

"  Nor  would  you  have  done  right  to  stay  away  if  you 
had,"  returned  Mr.  Sylvester  gayly. 

But  when  the  sport  was  all  over,  and  Paula  stood  alone 
with  Mr.  Sylvester  in  the  library,  awaiting  his  last  good- 
night, the  deeper  influences  of  this  holy  time  made  them- 
selves felt,  and  it  was  with  an  air  of  gentle  seriousness,  he 
told  her  that  it  had  been  a  happy  Christmas  eve  to  him. 

"  And  to  me,"  returned  Paula.  "  Bertram  too,  seemed 
very  happy.  Would  it  be  too  inquisitive  in  me  to  ask  what 
good  news  the  little  note  contained,  to  work  such  wonders  ?  " 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  337 

A  smile  such  as  was  seldom  seen  on  Mr.  Sylvester's  face 
of  late,  flashed  brightly  over  it.  "  It  was  only  a  card  of  in- 
vitation to  dinner,"  said  he,  "  but  it  came  from  Mr.  Stuyve- 
sant,  and  that  to  Bertram  means  a  great  deal." 

The  surprise  in  Paula's  eyes  made  him  smile  again. 
"  Will  it  be  a  great  shock  to  you,  if  I  tell  you  that  the  name 
of  the  woman  for  whom  Bertram  made  the  sacrifice  of  his 
art,  was  Cicely  Stuyvesant  ?  " 

"  Cicely  ?  my  Cicely  ?  "  Her  astonishment  was  great,  but 
it  was  also  happy.  "  Oh,  I  never  dreamed — ah,  now  I  see," 
she  went  on  naively.  "  That  is  the  reason  she  refrained  from 
coming  to  this  house ;  she  was  afraid  of  meeting  him.  But 
to  think  I  should  never  have  guessed  it,  and  she  my  dearest 
friend  !  Oh,  I  am  very  happy ;  I  admire  Bertram  so  much, 
and  it  is  such  a  beautiful  secret.  And  Mr.  Stuyvesant  has 
invited  him  to  his  house  !  I  do  not  wonder  you  felt  like 
making  the  evening  a  gala  one.  Mr.  Stuyvesant  would  not 
do  that  if  he  were  not  learning  to  appreciate  Bertram." 

"  No  ;  there  is  method  in  all  that  Mr.  Stuyvesant  does. 
More  than  that,  if  I  am  not  mistaken,  he  has  known  this 
beautiful  secret,  as  you  call  it,  from  the  first,  and  would  be 
the  last  to  receive  Bertram  as  a  guest  to  his  table,  if  he  did 
not  mean  him  the  best  and  truest  encouragement." 

"  I  believe  you  are  right,"  said  Paula.  "  I  remember 
now  that  one  day  when  I  was  spending  the  afternoon  with 
Cicely,  he  came  into  the  room  where  I  was,  and  finding  rne 
for  the  moment  alone,  sat  down,  and  in  his  quaint  old-fash- 
ioned manner  asked  me  in  the  most  abrupt  way  what  I 


338  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

thought  of  Bertram  Sylvester.  I  was  surprised,  but  told  him 
I  considered  him  one  of  the  noblest  young  men  I  knew,  add- 
ing that  if  a  fine  mind,  a  kind  heart,  and  a  pure  life  were  open 
to  regard,  Bertram  had  the  right  to  claim  the  esteem  of  all 
his  friends  and  associates.  The  old  gentleman  looked  at  me 
somewhat  curiously,  but  nodded  his  head  as  if  pleased,  and 
merely  remarking,  "  It  is  not  necessary  to  mention  we  had 
this  conversation,  my  dear,"  got  up  and  proceeded  slowly 
from  the  room.  I  thought  it  was  simply  a  not  unnatural 
curiosity  concerning  a  young  man  with  whom  he  had  more 
or  less  business  connection ;  but  now  I  perceive  it  had  a 
deeper  significence." 

"  He  could  scarcely  have  found  a  more  zealous  little 
advocate  for  Bertram  if  he  had  hunted  the  city  over.  Ber- 
tram may  be  more  obliged  to  you  than  he  knows.  He  has 
been  very  patient,  but  the  day  of  his  happiness  is  approach- 
ing." 

"  And  Cicely's  !  I  feel  as  if  I  could  scarcely  wait  to  see 
her  with  this  new  hope  in  her  eyes.     She  has  kept  me  with- 
out the  door  of  her  suspense,  but  she  must  let  me  across  the 
i  threshold  of  her  happiness." 

The  look  with  which  Mr.  Sylvester  eyed  the  fair  girl's 
radiant  face  deepened.  "  Paula,"  said  he,  "  can  you  leave 
these  new  thoughts  for  a  moment  to  hear  a  request  I  have  to 
make  ?" 

She  at  once  turned  to  him  with  her  most  self-forgetful 
smile. 

"  I  have  been  making  myself  a  little  present,"  pursued 


'FROM  A.  TO   Z.  339 

he,  slowly  taking  out  of  his  pocket  the  single  package  he 
had  reserved  from  the  rest.     "  Open  it,  dear." 

With  fingers  that  unconsciously  trembled,  she  hastily 
undid  the  package.  A  little  box  rolled  out.  Taking  off  its 
cover,  she  took  out  a  plain  gold  locket  of  the  style  usually 
worn  by  gentlemen  on  their  watch-chains.  "  Fasten  it  on 
for  me,"  said  he. 

Wondering  at  his  tone  which  was  almost  solemn,  she 
quietly  did  his  bidding.  But  when  she  essayed  to  lift  her 
head  upon  the  completion  of  her  task,  he  gently  laid  his 
hand  upon  her  brow  and  so  stood  for  a  moment  without  a 
word. 

"  What  is  it?  "  she  asked,  with  a  sudden  indrawing  of  her 
breath.  "  What  moves  you  so,  Mr.  Sylvester  ?" 

"  I  have  just  taken  a  vow,"  said  he. 

She  started  back  agitated  and  trembling. 

"I  had  reason  to,"  he  murmured,  "pray  at  nights  when 
you  go  to  bed,  that  I  may  be  able  to  keep  it." 

"  What  ? '"  sprang  to  her  lips  ;  but  she  restrained  herself 
and  only  allowed  her  glance  to  speak. 
.  "  Will  you  do  it,  Paula  ?  " 

"  Yes,  oh  yes  \  "  Her  whole  heart  seemed  to  rush  out  in 
the  phrase.  She  drew  back  as  at  the  opening  of  a  door  in 
an  unexpected  spot.  Her  eye  had  something  of  fear  in  it 
and  something  of  secret  desperation  too.  He  watched  her 
with  a  gaze  that  strangely  faltered. 

"  A  woman's  prayers  are  a  man's  best  safeguard,"  mur- 
mured he.  "  He  must  be  a  wretch  who  does  not  feel  himself 


340  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

surrounded  by  a  sacred  halo,  while  he  knows  that  pure  lips 
are  breathing  his  name  in  love  and  trust  before  the  throne 
of  the  Most  High." 

"  I  will  pray  for  you  as  for  myself,"  she  whispered,  and 
endeavored  to  meet  his  eyes.  But  her  head  drooped  and 
she  did  not  speak  as  she  would  have  done  a  few  months  be- 
fore ;  and  when  a  few  instants  later  they  parted  in  their  old 
fashion  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  she  did  not  turn  to  give  him 
the  accustomed  smile  and  nod  with  which  she  used  to  mount 
the  stairs,  spiral  by  spiral,  and  disappear  in  her  little  room 
above.  Yet  he  did  not  grieve  at  the  change,  but  stood  look- 
ing up  the  way  she  had  gone,  like  a  man  before  whom  some 
vision  of  unexpected  promise  had  opened. 


XXXI. 

A    QUESTION. 
"  Think  on  thy  sins." — OTHELLO. 

THE  next  morning  when  Mr.  Sylvester  came  down  to 
breakfast,  he  found  on  the  library-table  an  exquisite  casket, 
similar  to  the  one  he  had  given  Paula  the  night  before,  but 
larger,  and  filled  with  flowers  of  the  most  delicious  odor. 

"For  Miss  Fairchild,"  explained  Samuel,  who  was  at  that 
moment  passing  through  the  room. 

With  a  pang  of  jealous  surprise,  that,  however,  failed  to 
betray  itself  in  his  steadily  composed  countenance,  Mr.  Syl- 
vester advanced  to  the  side  of  the  table,  and  lifted  up  the 
card  that  hung  attached  to  the  beautiful  present.  The  name 
he  read  there  seemed  to  startle  him  ;  he  moved  away,  and 
took  up  his  paper  with  a  dark  flush  on  his  brow,  that  had 
not  disappeared  when  Miss  Belinda  entered  the  room. 

"  Humph  !  "  was  her  immediate  exclamation,  as  her  eye 
rested  upon  the  conspicuous  offering  in  the  centre  of  the 
apartment.  But  instantly  remembering  herself,  advanced 
with  a  cheerful  good-morning,  which  however  did  not  pre- 
vent her  eyes  from  wandering  with  no  small  satisfaction 
towards  this  fresh  evidence  of  Mr.  Ensign's  assiduous  re- 
gard. 


342  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"Paula  is  remembered  by  others  than  ourselves,"  re- 
marked Mr.  Sylvester,  probably  observing  her  glance. 

"  Yes ;  she  has  a  very  attentive  suitor  in  Mr.  Ensign," 
returned  Miss  Belinda  shortly.  "A  pleasant  appearing 
young  man,"  she  ejaculated  next  moment;  "worthy  in 
many  respects  of  success,  I  should  say." 

"  Has  he — do  you  mean  to  say  that  he  has  visited  you  in 
Grotewell  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Sylvester,  his  eye  upon  the  paper  in 
his  hand. 

"  Certainly  ;  a  few  more  interviews  will  settle  it." 

The  paper  rustled  in  Mr.  Sylvester's  grasp,  but  his  voice 
was  composed  if  not  formal,  as  he  observed,  "  She  regards 
his  attentions  then  with  favor  ?  " 

"She  wears  his  flowers  in  her  bosom,  and  brightens  like 
a  flower  herself  when  he  is  seen  to  approach.  If  allowed  to 
go  her  way  unhindered,  I  have  but  little  doubt  as  to  how 
it  will  end.  Mr.  Ensign  is  not  handsome,  but  I  am  told 
that  he  has  every  other  qualification  likely  to  make  a  gentle 
creature  like  Paula  happy." 

"  He  is  a  good  fellow,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Sylvester  under 
his  breath. 

"  And  goodness  is  the  first  essential  in  the  character  of 
the  man  who  is  to  marry  Paula,"  inexorably  observed  Miss 
Belinda.  "  An  open,  cheerful  disposition,  a  clear  conscience 
and  a  past  with  no  dark  pages  in  its  hist6ry,  must  mark  him 
who  is  to  link  unto  his  fate  our  pure  and  sensitive  Paula. 
Is  it  not  so,  Mr.  Sylvester  ?  " 

The  advertisements  in  that  morning's  Tribune  must  have 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  343 

been  unusually  interesting,  judging  from  the  difficulty  which 
Mr.  Sylvester  experienced  in  withdrawing  his  eyes  from 
them.  "  The  man  whom  Paula  marries,"  said  he  at  last, 
"  can  neither  be  too  good,  too  kind,  or  too  pure.  Nor  shall 
any  other  than  a  good,  kind,  and  pure  man  possess  her,"  he 
added  in  a  tone  that  while  low,  effectually  hushed  even  the 
slow-to-be-intimidated  Miss  Belinda.  In  another  moment 
Paula  entered. 

Oh,  the  morning  freshness  of  some  faces  !  Like  the  sing- 
ing of  birds  in  a  prison,  is  the  sound  and  sight  of  a  lovely 
maiden  coming  into  the  grim,  gray  atmosphere  of  a  winter 
breakfast  room.  Paula  was  exceptionally  gifted  with  this 
auroral  cheer  which  starts  the  day  so  brightly.  At  sight  of 
her  face  Mr.  Sylvester  dropped  his  paper,  and  even  Miss 
Belinda  straightened  herself  more  energetically.  "  Merry 
Christmas,"  cried  her  sweet  young  voice,  and  immediately 
the  whole  day  seemed  to  grow  glad  with  promise  and  gay- 
some  with  ringing  sleigh-bells.  "  It's  snowing,  did  you 
know  it  ?  A  world  of  life  is  in  the  air  ;  the  flakes  dance  as 
they  come  down,  like  dervishes  in  a  frenzy.  It  was  all  we 
lacked  to  make  the  day  complete  ;  now  we  have  every- 
thing." 

"  Yes,"  said  Miss  Belinda,  with  a  significant  glance  at 
the  table,  "  everything." 

Paula  followed  her  glance,  saw  the  silver  box  with  its 
wealth  of  blossoms,  and  faltered  back  with  a  quick  look  at 
Mr.  Sylvester's  grave  and  watchful  countenance. 

"  Mr.  Ensign  seems  to  be  possessed  of  clairvoyance,"  ob- 


344  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

served  Miss  Belinda  easily.  "  How  he  could  know  that  you 
were  to  be  in  town  to-day,  I  cannot  imagine." 

"  I  wrote  him  in  my  last  letter  that  in  all  probability  I 
should  spend  the  holidays  with  Mr.  Sylvester,"  explained 
Paula  simply,  but  with  a  slow  and  deepening  flush,  that  left 
the  roses  she  contemplated  nothing  of  which  to  boast.  "  I 
did  so,  because  he  proposed  to  visit  Grotewell  on  Christmas." 

There  was  a  short  silence  in  the  room,  then  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter rose,  and  remarking  with  polite  composure,  "  It  is  a  very 
pretty  remembrance,"  led  the  way  into  the  dining-room. 
Paula  with  a  slow  drooping  of  her  head  quickly  followed, 
while  Miss  Belinda  brought  up  the  rear,  with  the  look  of  a 
successful  diplomat. 

A  meal  in  th£  Sylvester  mansion  was  always  a  formal 
affair,  but  this  was  more  than  formal.  A  vague  oppression 
seemed  to  fill  the  air ;  an  oppression  which  Miss  Belinda's 
stirring  conversation  found  it  impossible  to  dissipate.  In 
compliance  to  Mr.  Sylvester's  request,  she  sat  at  the  head  of 
the  table,  and  was  the  only  one  who  seemed  able  to  eat  any- 
thing. For  one  thing  she  had  never  seen  Ona  in  that  post  of 
honor,  but  Paula  and  Mr.  Sylvester  could  not  forget  the 
graceful  form  that  once  occupied  that  seat.  The  first  meal 
above  a  grave,  no  matter  how  long  it  has  been  dug,  must  ever 
seem  weighted  with  more  or  less  unreality. 

Besides,  with  Paula  there  was  a  vague  unsettled  feeling, 
as  if  some  delicate  inner  balance  had  been  too  rudely 
shaken.  She  longed  to  fly  away  and  think,  and  she  was 
obliged  to  sit  still  and  talk. 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  345 

The  end  of  the  meal  was  a  relief  to  all  parties.  Miss 
Belinda  went  up  stairs,  thoughtfully  shaking  her  firm  head ; 
Mr.  Sylvester  sat  down  again  to  his  paper,  and  Paula  ad- 
vanced towards  the  dainty  gift  that  awaited  her  inspection  on 
the  library  table.  But  half  way  to  it  she  paused.  A  strange 
shyness  had  seized  her.  With  Mr.  Sylvester  sitting  there, 
she  dared  not  approach  this  delicate  testimonial  of  another's 
affection.  She  did  not  know  as  she  wished  to.  Her  eyes  stole 
in  hesitation  to  the  floor.  Suddenly  Mr.  Sylvester  spoke  : 

"  Why  do  you  not  look  at  your  pretty  present,  Paula  ?  " 

She  started,  gave  him  a  quick  glance,  and  advanced 
hurriedly  towards  the  table  ;  but  scarcely  had  she  reached  it 
when  she  paused,  turned  and  hastened  over  to  his  side.  He 
was  still  reading,  or  appearing  to  read,  but  she  saw  his  hand 
tremble  where  it  grasped  the  sheet,  though  his  face  with  its 
clear  cut  profile,  shone  calm  and  cold  against  the  dark  back- 
ground of  the  wall  beyond. 

"  I  do  not  care  to  look  at  it  now,"  said  she,  with  t 
hurried  interlacing  of  her  restless  fingers. 

He  turned  towards  her  and  a  quick  thrill  passed  over  his 
countenance.  "  Sit  down,  Paula,  said  he,  "  I  want  to  talk  to 
you." 

She  obeyed  as  might  an  automaton.  Was  it  the  tone  of 
his  voice  that  chilled  her,  or  the  studied  aspect  of  his  fixed 
and  solemn  countenance  ?  He  did  not  speak  at  once,  but 
when  he  did,  there  was  no  faltering  in  his  voice,  that  was 
lower  than  common,  but  deep,  like  still  waters  that  have  run 
into  dark  channels  far  from  the  light  of  day. 


346  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Paula,  I  want  to  ask  you  a  question.  What  would  you 
think  of  a  man  that,  with  deliberate  selfishness,  went  into  the 
king's  garden,  and  plucking  up  by  the  roots  the  most  beau- 
tiful flower  he  could  find  there,  carried  it  into  a  dungeon  to 
pant  out  its  exquisite  life  amid  chill  and  darkness  ?  " 

"I  should  think,"  replied  she,  after  the  first  startled 
moment  of  silence,  "  that  the  man  did  well,  if  by  its  one 
breath  of  sweetness,  the  flower  could  comfort  the  heart  of 
him  who  sat  in  the  dungeon." 

The  glance  with  which  Mr.  Sylvester  regarded  her,  sud- 
denly faltered;  he  turned  with  quickness  towards  the  fire. 
"A  moment's  joy  is,  then,  excuse  for  a  murder,"  exclaimed 
he.  "  God  and  the  angels  would  not  agree  with  you, 
Paula." 

There  was  a  quivering  in  his  tone,  made  all  the  more 
apparent  by  its  studied  self-possession  of  a  moment  before. 
She  trembled  where  she  sat,  and  opened  her  lips  to  speak,  but 
closed  them  again,  awed  by  his  steady  and  abstracted  gaze, 
now  fixed  before  him  in  gloomy  reverie.  A  moment  passed. 
The  clock  ticking  away  on  the  mantel-piece  seemed  to  echo 
the  inevitable  "  Forever  !  never  !  "  of  Longfellow's  old  song. 
Neither  of  them  moved.  At  length,  in  a  low  and  trem- 
bling voice,  Paula  spoke  : 

"  Is  it  murder,  when  the  flower  loves  the  dark  of  the 
dungeon  more  than  it  does  the  light  of  day  ?  " 

With  a  subdued  but  passionate  cry  he  rose  hastily  to  his 
feet.  "  Yes,"  said  he,  and  drew  back  as  if  he  could  not  bear 
the  sight  of  her  face  or  the  glance  of  her  eye.  "  Sunshine  is 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  347 

the  breath  of  flowers ;  sweet  wooing  gales,  their  natural  at- 
mosphere. He  who  meddles  with  a  treasure  so  choice  does 
it  at  his  peril."  Then  as  she  hurriedly  rose  in  turn,  softened 
his  whole  tone,  and  assuming  his  usual  air  of  kindly  father- 
hood, asked  her  in  the  most  natural  way  in  the  world,  what 
he  could  do  to  make  her  happy  that  day. 

"  Nothing,"  replied  she,  with  a  droop  of  her  head  ;  "  I 
think  I  will  go  and  see  Cicely." 

A  short  sigh  escaped  him.  "  The  carriage  shall  be 
ready  for  you,"  said  he.  "  I  hope  your  friend's  happiness 
will  overflow  into  your  own  gentle  bosom,  and  make  the  day 
a  very  pleasant  one.  God  bless  your  young  sweet  heart,  my 
Paula !  " 

Her  breast  heaved,  her  large,  dark,  mellow  eyes  flashed 
with  one  quick  glance  towards  his  face,  then  she  drew  back, 
and  in  another  moment  left  his  side  and  quietly  glided  from 
the  room.  His  very  life  seemed  to  go  with  her,  yet  he  did 
not  stir  ;  but  he  sighed  deeply  when,  upon  turning  towards 
the  library-table,  he  found  that  she  had  carried  away  with 
her  the  silent  testimonial  of  another  and  more  fortunate 
man's  love  and  devotion. 


XXXII. 

FULL   TIDE. 

"  A  skirmish  of  wit  between  them." 

— MUCH  ADO  ABOUT  NOTHING. 

MAN  thinks  he  is  strong,  and  lays  his  foundations,  raises 
his  walls,  and  dreams  of  his  completed  turrets,  without  reck- 
oning the  force  of  the  gales  or  the  insidious  inundating  of 
the  waters  that  may  bring  low  the,  mounting  structure  before 
its  time.  When  with  a  firm  hand,  Mr.  Sylvester  thrust  back 
from  his  heart  the  one  delight  which  of  all  the  world  could 
afford,  seemed  to  him  at  that  moment  the  dearest  and  the 
best,  he  thought  the  struggle  was  over  and  the  victory  won. 
It  had  not  even  commenced.  He  was  made  startlingly  alive 
to  this  fact  at  the  very  next  interview  he  had  with  Paula. 
She  had  just  come  from  Miss  Stuyvesant,  and  the  reflection 
of  her  friend's  scarcely  comprehended  joy  was  on  her  coun- 
tenance, together  with  a  look  he  could  not  comprehend,  but 
which  stirred  and  haunted  him,  until  he  felt  forced  to  ask  if 
she  had  seen  any  other  of  her  old  friends,  in  the  short  visit 
she  had  paid. 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  with  a  distressed  blush.  "  Mr.  Ensign 
was  unexpectedly  there." 

It  is  comparatively  easy  to  restrain  your  own  hand  from 
snatching  at  a  treasure  you  greatly  covet,  but  it  is  much 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  349 

more  difficult  to  behold  another  and  a  lesser  one  grasp  and 
carry  it  away  before  your  eyes.  He  succeeded  in  hiding 
the  shadow  that  oppressed  him,  but  he  was  constrained  to 
recognize  the  sharpness  of  the  conflict  that  was  about  to  be 
waged  in  the  recesses  of  his  own  breast.  A  conflict,  because 
he  knew  that  a  lift  of  his  finger,  or  a  glance  of  his  eye  would 
decide  the  matter  then,  while  in  a  week,  perhaps,  the  glamour 
of  a  young  sunshiny  love,  would  have  worked  its  inevitable 
result,  and  the  happiness  that  had  so  unexpectedly  startled 
upon  him  in  his  monotonous  and  sombre  path,  would  have 
wandered  forever  out  of  his  reach.  How  did  he  meet  its 
unexpected  rush.  Sternly  at  first,  but  with  greater  and 
greater  wavering  as  the  days  went  by,  each  one  revealing 
fresh  beauties  of  character  and  deeper  springs  of  feeling  in 
the  enchanting  girl  thus  brought  in  all  her  varied  charm 
before  his  eyes.  Why  should  he  not  be  happy  ?  If  there 
were  dark  pages  in  his  life,  had  they  not  long  ago  been  closed 
and  sealed,  and  was  not  the  future  bright  with  promise  ?  A 
man  of  his  years  was  not  through  with  life.  He  felt  at  times 
as  he  gazed  upon  her  face  with  its  indescribable  power  of 
awakening  far-reaching  thoughts  and  feelings  in  callous 
breasts  long  unused  to  the  holy  influence  of  either,  that  he 
had  just  begun  to  live  ;  that  the  golden  country,  with  its 
enticing  vistas,  lay  all  before  him,  and  that  the  youth,  which 
he  had  missed,  had  somehow  returned  to  his  prime,  fresh 
with  more  than  its  usual  enthusiasm  and  bright  with  more 
than  its  wonted  hopes  and  projects.  With  this  glorious 
woman  at  his  side,  life  would  be  new  indeed,  and  if  new  why 


35°  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

not  pure  and  sweet  and  noble  ?  What  was  there  to  hinder 
him  from  making  the  existence  of  this  sweet  soul  a  walking 
amongst  gentle  duties,  satisfied  dreams  and  holy  aspirations  ? 
A  past  remorse  ?  Why  the  gates  could  be  closed  on  that ! 
A  strain  of  innate  weakness  for  the  world's  good  opinion  and 
applause  ?  Ah  !  with  love  in  his  life  such  a  weakness  must 
disappear  ;  besides  had  he  not  taken  a  vow  on  her  dear 
head,  that  ought  to  hedge  him  about  as  with  angel's  wings  in 
the  hour  of  temptation  ?  Men  with  his  experience  do  not 
invoke  the  protection  of  innocence  to  guard  a  degraded  soul. 
Why,  then,  all  this  hesitation  ?  A  great  boon  was  being 
offered  to  him  after  years  of  loneliness  and  immeasurable 
longing  ;  was  it  not  the  will  of  heaven,  that  he  should  meet 
and  enjoy  this  unexpected  grace  ?  He  dared  to  stop  and 
ask,  and  once  daring  to  ask,  the  insidious  waters  found 
their  way  beneath  the  foundations  of  his  resolution,  and  the 
lofty  structure  he  had  reared  in  such  self-confidence,  began 
to  tremble  where  it  stood,  though  as  yet  it  betrayed  no  visi- 
ble sign  of  weakness. 

Meanwhile,  society  with  its  innumerable  demands,  had 
drawn  the  beautiful  young  girl  within  its  controlling  grasp. 
She  must  go  here,  she  must  go  there  ;  she  must  lend  her 
talents  to  this,  her  beauty  to  that.  Before  she  had  decided 
whether  she  ought  to  remain  in  the  city  a  week,  two  had 
flown  by,  and  in  all  this  time  Mr.  Ensign  had  been  ever  at 
her  side,  brightening  in  her  own  despite,  hours  which  might 
else  have  been  sad,  and  surrounding  her  difficult  path  with 
proofs  of  his  silent  and  wary  devotion.  A  golden  net  seemed 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  351 

to  be  closing  around  her,  and,  though  as  yet,  she  had  given 
no  token  of  a  special  recognition  of  her  position,  Miss  Belinda 
betrayed  by  the  uniform  complacence  of  her  demeanor,  that 
she  for  one  regarded  the  matter  as  effectually  settled. 

The  success  which  Bertram  had  met  in  his  first  visit  at 
Mr.  Stuyvesant's,  was  not  the  least  agitating  factor  in  this 
fortnight's  secret  history.  He  was  too  much  a  part  of  the 
home  life  at  Mr.  Sylvester's,  not  to  make  the  lightest  thrill  of 
his  frank  and  sensitive  nature  felt  by  all  who  invaded  its 
precincts.  And  he  was  in  a  state  of  repressed  expectancy  at 
this  time,  that  unconsciously  created  an  atmosphere  about 
him  of  vague  but  restless  excitement.  The  hearts  of  all 
who  encountered  his  look  of  concentrated  delight,  must  un- 
consciously beat  with  his.  A  strain  sweeter  than  his  old- 
time  music  was  in  his  voice.  When  he  played  upon  the 
piano,  which  was  but  seldom,  it  was  as  if  he  breathed  out 
his  soul  before  the  holy  images.  When  he  walked,  he  seemed 
to  tread  on  air.  His  every  glance  was  a  question  as  to 
whether  this  great  joy,  for  which  he  had  so  long  and  patiently 
waited,  was  to  be  his  ?  Love,  living  and  apotheosized,  ap- 
peared to  blaze  before  them,  and  no  one  can  look  on  love 
without  feeling  somewhere  in  his  soul  the  stir  of  those  deep 
waters,  whose  pulsing  throb  even  in  the  darkness  of  mid- 
night, proves  that  we  are  the  children  of  God. 

Cicely  was  uncommunicative,  but  her  face,  when  Paula 
beheld  it,  was  like  the  glowing  countenance  of  some  sculp- 
tured saint,  from  which  the  veil  is  slowly  being  withdrawn. 

Suddenly  there  came  an  evening  when  the  force  of  the 


352  THE   SWORD   OF  DAAfOCLES. 

spell  that  held  all  these  various  hearts  enchained  gave  way. 
It  was  the  night  of  a  private  entertainment  of  great  elegance, 
to  be  held  at  the  house  of  a  friend  of  Miss  Stuyvesant. 
Bertram  had  received  formal  permission  from  the  father  of 
-Cicely,  to  act  as  his  daughter's  escort,  and  the  fact  had 
transformed  him  from  a  hopeful  dreamer,  into  a  man  deter- 
mined to  speak  and  know  his  fate  at  once.  Paula  was  en- 
gaged to  take  part  in  the  entertainment,  and  the  sight  of  her 
daintily-decked  figure  leaving  the  house  with  Mr.  Ensign, 
was  the  last  drop  in  the  slowly  gathering  tide  that  was 
secretly  swelling  in  Mr.  Sylvester's  breast  ;  and  it  was  with 
a  sudden  outrush  of  his  whole  determined  nature  that  he 
stepped  upstairs,  dressed  himself  in  evening  attire,  and  de- 
liberately followed  them  to  the  place  where  they  were  going. 
"  The  wealth  of  the  Indies  is  slipping  from  my  grasp,"  was 
his  passionate  exclamation,  as  he  rode  through  the  lighted 
streets.  "  I  cannot  see  it  go  ;  if  she  can  care  more  for  me 
than  for  this  sleek,  merry-hearted  young  fellow,  she  shall.  I 
know  that  my  love  is  to  his,  what  the  mighty  ocean  is  to  a 
placid  lake,  and  with  such  love  one  ought  to  be  panoplied  as 
with  resisting  steel." 

A  stream  of  light  and  music  met  him,  as  he  went  up  the 
stoop  of  the  house  that  held  his  treasure.  It  seemed  to  in- 
toxicate him.  Glow,  melody  and  perfume,  were  so  many 
expressions  of  Paula.  His  friends,  of  whom  there  were  many 
present,  received  him  with  tokens  of  respect,  not  unmingled 
with  surprise.  It  was  the  first  time  he  had  been  seen  in 
public  since  his  wife's  death,  and  they  could  not  but  remark 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  353 

upon  the  cheerfulness  of  his  bearing,  and  the  almost  exalted 
expression  of  his  proud  and  restless  eye.  Had  Paula  accom- 
panied him,  they  might  have  understood  his  emotion,  but 
with  the  beautiful  girl  under  the  care  of  one  of  the  most  eli- 
gible gentlemen  in  town,  what  could  have  happened  to  Mr. 
Sylvester  to  make  his  once  melancholy  countenance  blazon 
like  a  star  amid  this  joyous  and  merrily-laughing  throng. 
He  did  not  enlighten  them,  but  moved  from  group  to  group, 
searching  for  Paula.  Suddenly  the  thought  flashed  upon 
him,  "  Is  it  only  an  hour  or  so  since  I  smiled  upon  her  in 
my  own  hall,  and  shook  my  head  when  she  asked  me  with 
a  quick,  pleading  look,  to  come  with  them  to  this  very 
spot  ?  "  It  seemed  days,  since  that  time.  The  rush  of  these 
new  thoughts,  the  final  making  up  of  this  slowly-maturing 
purpose,  the  sudden  allowing  of  his  heart  to  regard  her  as  a 
woman  to  be  won,  had  carried  the  past  away  as  by  the 
sweep  of  a  mountain  torrent.  He  could  not  believe  he  had 
ever  known  a  moment  of  hesitancy,  ever  looked  at  her  as  a 
father,  ever  bid  her  go  on  her  way  and  leave  the  prisoner  to 
his  fate.  He  must  always  have  felt  like  this  ;  such  momen- 
tum could  not  have  been  gathered  in  an  hour ;  she  must 
know  that  he  loved  her  wildly,  deeply,  sacredly,  wholly,  with 
the  fibre  of  his  mind,  his  body  and  his  soul ;  that  to  call  her 
his  in  life  and  in  death,  was  the  one  demanding  passion  of 
his  existence,  making  the  past  a  dream,  and  the  future — ah, 
he  dared  not  question  that  !  He  must  behold  her  face  be- 
fore he  could  even  speculate  upon  the  realities  lying  behind 
fate's  down-drawn  curtain. 


354  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Meanwhile  fair  faces  and  lovely  forms  flitted  before  him, 
carrying  his  glance  along  in  their  train,  but  only  because 
youth  was  a  symbol  of  Paula.  If  these  fresh  young  girls 
could  smile  and  look  back  upon  him,  with  that  lingering 
glance  which  his  presence  ever  invoked,  why  not  she  who 
was  not  only  sweet,  tender,  and  lovely,  but  gifted  with  a 
nature  that  responded  to  the  deep  things  of  life,  and  the 
stern  passions  of  potent  humanity  Could  a  merry  laugh  lure 
her  while  he  stood  by  ?  Was  the  sunshine  the  natural  at- 
mosphere of  this  flower,  that  had  bloomed  under  his  eye  so 
sweetly  and  shed  out  its  innocent  fragrance,  at  the  approach 
of  his  solemn-pacing  foot  ?  He  began  to  mirror  before  his 
mind's  eye  the  startled  look  of  happy  wonder  with  which 
she  would  greet  his  impassioned  glance,  when  released  from 
whatever  duties  might  be  now  pressing  upon  her  ;  she  wan- 
dered into  these  rooms,  to  find  him  awaiting  her,  when  sud- 
denly there  was  a  stir  in  the  throng,  a  pleased  and  excited 
rush,  and  the  large  curtain  which  he  had  vaguely  noticed 
hanging  at  one  end  of  the  room,  uplifted  and — was  it  Paula  ? 
this  coy,  brilliant,  saucy-eyed  Florentine  maiden,  stepping 
out  from  a  bower  of  greenery,  with  finger  on  her  lip,  and  a 
backward  glance  of  saucy  defiance  that  seemed  to  people 
the  verdant  walks  behind  her  with  gallant  cavaliers,  eager  to 
follow  upon  her  footsteps  ?  Yes  ;  he  could  not  be  mistaken  ; 
there  was  but  one  face  like  that  in  the  world.  It  was  Paula, 
but  Paula  with  youth's  merriest  glamour  upon  her,  a  glamour 
that  had  caught  its  radiant  light  from  other  thoughts  than 
those  in  which  he  had  been  engaged.  He  bowed  his  head, 


FROM  A    TO  Z.  355 

and  a  shudder  went  through  him  like  that  which  precedes 
the  falling  knife  of  the  executioner.  Even  the  applause  that 
greeted  the  revelation  of  so  much  loveliness  and  alluring 
charm,  passed  over  him  like  a  dream.  He  was  battling  with 
his  first  recognition  of  the  possibility  of  his  being  too  late. 
Suddenly  her  voice  was  heard. 

She  was  speaking  aloud  to  herself,  this  Florentine  maiden 
who  had  outstripped  her  lover  in  the  garden,  but  the  tone 
was  the  same  he  had  heard  beside  his  own  hearthstone,  and 
the  archness  that  accompanied  it  had  frequently  met  and 
encouraged  some  cheerful  expression  of  his  own.  These  are 
the  words  she  uttered.  Listen  with  him  to  the  naive,  half 
tender,  half  pettish  voice,  and  mark  with  his  eyes  the  alter- 
nate lights  and  shadows  that  flit  'across  her  cheek  as  she 
broodingly  murmurs  : 

He  is  certainly  a  most  notable  gallant.  His  "  Good  day,  lady  ! " 
and  his  "  Good  even  to  you  ! "  are  flavored  with  the  cream  of  perfectest 
courtesy.  But  gallantry  while  it  sits  well  upon  a  man,  does  not  make  him 
one,  any  more  than  a  feather  makes  the  cap  it  adorns.  For  a  Tuscan  he 
hath  also  a  certain  comeliness,  but  then  I  have  ever  sworn,  in  good  faith 
too,  that  I  would  not  marry  a  Tuscan,  were  he  the  best  made  man  in 
Italy.  Then  there  is  his  glance,  which  proclaims  to  all  men's  understand- 
ings that  he  loves  me,  which  same  seems  overbold  ;  but  then  his  smile  ! 
Well,  for  a  smile  it  certainly  does  credit  to  his  wit,  bu^  one  cannot  live 
upon  smiles  ;  though  if  one  could,  one  might  consent  to  make  a  trial  of 
his — and  starve  belike  for  her  pains.  (She  drops  her  cheek  into  her  hand 
and  stands  musing.) 

Mr.  Sylvester  drew  a  deep  breath  and  let  his  eyes  fall, 
when  suddenly  a  hum  ran  through  the  audience  about  him, 
and  looking  quickly  up,  he  beheld  Mr.  Ensign  dressed  in  full 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

cavalier  costume,  standing  behind  the  musing  maiden  with 
a  half  merry,  half  tender  gleam  upon  his  face,  that  made  the 
thickly  beating  heart  of  his  rival  shrink  as  if  clutched  in  an 
iron  vise.  What  followed,  he  heard  as  we  do  the  words  of  a 
sentence  read  to  us  from  the  judge's  seat.  The  cavalier 
spoke  first  and  a  thousand  dancing  colors  seemed  to  flash  in 
the  merry  banter  that  followed. 

Martino. — She  muses,  and  on  no  other  than  myself,  as  I  am  ready  to 
swear  by  that  coy  and  tremulous  glance.  I  will  move  her  to  avow  it. 
(Advances?)  Fair  lady,  greeting !  A  kiss  for  your  sweet  thoughts. 

Nita.  ( With  a  start). — A  kiss,  Signior  Martino  ?  You  must  ac- 
knowledge that  were  but  a  sorry  exchange  for  thoughts  like  mine,  so  if  it 
please  you,  I  will  keep  my  thoughts  and  you  your  kiss  ;  and  lest  it  should 
seem  ungracious  in  me  to  give  nothing  upon  your  asking,.  I  will  bestow 
upon  you  my  most  choice  good  day,  and  so  leave  you  to  your  meditations. 
(Curtseys  and  is  about  to  depart?) 

Martina. — You  have  the  true  generosity,  lady  ;  you  give  away  what  it 
costs  you  the  dearest  to  part  from.  Nay,  rumple  not  your  lip ;  it  is  the 
truth  for  all  your  pretty  poutings  !  Convince  me  it  is  not. 

Nita. — Your  pardon,  but  that  would  take  words,  and  words  would 
take  time,  and  time  given  to  one  of  your  persuasion  would  refute  all  my 
arguments  on  the  face  of  them.  (Still  retreating?) 

Martino. — Well,  lady,  since  it  is  your  pleasure  to  be  consistent,  rather 
than  happy,  adieu.     Had  you  stayed  but  as  long  as  the  bee  pauses  on  an 
oleander  blossom,  you  would  have  heard — 
Nita. — Buzzing,  signior  ? 

Martino. — Yes,  if  by  that  word  you  would  denominate  vows  of  con- 
stancy and  devotion.  For  I  do  greatly  love  you,  and  would  tell  you  so. 

Nita. — And  for  that  you  expect  me  to  linger !  as  though  vows  were 
new  to  my  ears,  and  words  of  love  as  strange  to  my  understanding  as 
tropical  birds  to  the  eyes  of  a  Norseman. 

Martino, — If  you  do  love  me,  you  will  linger. 

Nita. — Yet  if  I  do,  (Slowly  advancing)  be  assured  it  is  from  some  other 
motive  than  love. 

Martino. — So  it  be  not  from  hate  I  am  contented. 


FROM  A    TO   Z.  357 

Nita. — To  be  contented  with  little,  proves  you  a  man  of  much  virtue. 

Martina. — When  I  have  you,  I  am  contented  with  much. 

Nita. — That  •wfun  is  a  wise  insertion,  signior  ;  it  saves  you  from  shame 
and  me  from  anger. — Hark  !  some  one  calls. 

Martino. — None  other  but  the  wind  ;  it  is  a  kindly  breeze,  and  grieves 
to  hear  how  harsh  a  pretty  maiden  can  be  to  the  lover  who  adores  her. 

Nita. — Please  your  worship,  I  do  not  own  a  lover. 

Martino. — Then  mend  your  poverty,  and  accept  one. 

Nita. — I  am  no  beggar  to  accept  of  alms. 

Martino. — In  this  case,  he  who  offers  is  the  beggar. 

Nita, — I  am  too  young  to  wear  a  jewel  of  so  much  pretension. 

Martino. — Time  is  a  cure  for  youth,  and  marriage  a  happy  speeder  of 
time. 

Nita. — But  youth  needs  no  cure,  and  if  marriage  speedeth  time,  I'll 
live  a  maid  and  die  one.  The  days  run  swift  enough  without  goading, 
Signior  Martino. 

Martino. — But  lady — 

Nita. — Nay,  your  tongue  will  outstrip  time,  if  you  put  not  a  curb  upon 
it.  In  faith,  signior,  I  would  not  seem  rude,  but  if  in  your  courtesy  you 
would  consent  to  woo  some  other  maiden  to-day,  why  I  would  strive  and 
bear  it. 

Martino. — When  I  stoop  to  woo  any  other  lady  than  thee,  the  moon 
shall  hide  its  face  from  the  earth,  and  shine  upon  it  no  more. 

Nita. — Your  thoughts  are  daring  in  their  flight  to-day. 

Martino. — They  are  in  search  of  your  love. 

Nita. — Alack,  your  wings  will  fail. 

Martino. — Ay,  when  they  reach  their  goal. 

Nita. — Dost  think  to  reach  it  ? 

Martina. — Shall  I  not,  lady  ? 

Nita. — 'Tis  hard  to  believe  it  possible,  yet  who  can  tell  ?  You  are 
not  so  handsome,  signior,  that  one  would  die  for  you. 

Martino. — No,  lady  ;  but  what  goes  to  make  other  men's  faces  fair, 
goes  to  make  my  heart  great.  The  virtue  of  my  manhood  rests  in  the 
fact  that  I  love  you. 

Nita. — Faith !  so  in  some  others.  'Tis  the  common  fault  of  the  gal- 
lants, I  find.  If  that  is  all— 

Martino. — But  I  will  always  love  you,  even  unto  death. 

Nita. — I  doubt  it  not,  so  death  come  soon  enough. 


358  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Martina.  (Taps  his  poiniard  lolih  his  hand).— Would  you  have  it 
come  now,  and  so  prove  me  true  to  my  word  ? 

Nita.  (Demurely). — I  am  no  judge,  to  utter  the  doom  that  your  pre- 
sumption merits. 

Martina. — Your  looks  speak  doom,  and  your  sweet  lips  hide  a  sword 
keener  than  that  of  justice. 

Nita. — Have  you  tried  them,  signior,  that  you  speak  so  knowingly 
concerning  them?  (Retreating.)  Your  words,  methinks,  are  somewhat  like 
your  kisses,  all  breath  and  no  substance. 

Martina. — Lady  !  sweet  one  !     (Follows  Atr.) 

A'ita. — Nay,  I  am  gone.     (Exit.) 

Martina. — I  were  of  the  fools'  fold,  did  I  fail  to  follow  at  a  beck  so 
gentle.  (Exit.) 

That  was  not  all,  but  it  was  all  that  Mr.  Sylvester  heard. 
Hastily  retreating,  he  went  out  into  the  corridor  and  ere  long 
found  himself  in  the  conservatory.  He  felt  shaken  ;  felt 
that  he  could  not  face  all  this  unmoved.  He  knew  he  had 
been  gazing  at  a  play ;  that  because  this  Florentine  maiden 
looked  at  her  lover  with  coyness,  gentleness,  tenderness  per- 
haps, it  did  not  follow  that  she,  his  Paula,  loved  the  real 
man  behind  this  dashing  cavalier.  But  the  possibility  was 
there,  and  in  his  present  frame  of  mind  could  not  be  encoun- 
tered without  pain.  He  dared  not  stay  where  men's  eyes 
could  follow  him,  or  women's  delicate  glances  note  the  heav- 
ing of  his  chest.  He  had  in  the  last  three  hours  given  him- 
self over  so  completely  to  hope.  He  realized  it  now  though 
he  would  not  have  believed  it  before.  With  man's  usual 
egotism  he  had  felt  that  it  was  only  necessary  for  him  to 
come  to  a  decision,  to  behold  all  else  fall  out  according  to 
his  mind.  He  had  forgotten  for  the  nonce  the  power  of  a 
youthful  lover,  eager  to  serve,  ready  to  wait,  careful  to  press 


FROM  A    TO  Z.  359 

his  way  at  every  advantage.  He  could  have  cursed  himself 
for  the  folly  of  his  delay,  as  he  strode  up  and  down  among 
the  flowering  shrubs  in  the  solitude  which  the  attractions  of 
the  play  created.  "  Fool  !  fool  !  "  he  muttered  between  his 
teeth,  "  to  halt  on  the  threshold  of  Paradise  till  the  door 
closed  in  my  face,  when  a  step  would  have  carried  me  where 
— He  grew  dizzy  as  he  contemplated.  The  goal  looks  never 
so  fair  as  when  just  within  reach  of  a  rival's  hand. 

A  vigorous  clapping,  followed  by  a  low  gush  of  music, 
woke  him  at  last  to  the  realization  that  the  little  drama  had 
terminated.  With  a  hasty  movement  he  was  about  to  return 
to  the  parlors,  when  he  heard  the  low  murmur  of  voices,  and 
on  looking  up,  saw  a  youthful  couple  advancing  into  the 
conservatory,  whom  at  first  glance  he  recognized  for  Bertram 
and  Miss  Stuyvesant.  They  were  absorbed  in  each  other, 
and  believing  themselves  alone,  came  on  without  fear,  pre- 
senting such  a  picture  of  love  and  deep,  unspeakable  joy,  that 
Mr.-  Sylvester  paused  and  gazed  upon  them  as  upon  the  sud- 
den embodiment  of  a  cherished  vision  of  his  own  imaginings. 
Bertram  was  speaking  ordinary  words  no  doubt,  words 
suited  to  the  occasion  and  the  time,  but  his  voice  was  at- 
tuned to  the  beatings  of  his  long  repressed  heart,  while  the 
bend  of  his  proud  young  head  and  the  glance  of  his  yearn- 
ing eye  were  more  eloquent  than  speech,  of  the  leaning  of 
his  whole  nature  in  love  and  protection  towards  the  dainty, 
flushing  creature  at  his  side.  It  was  a  sight  to  make  old 
hearts  young  and  a  less  happy  lover  sick  with  envy.  In 
spite  of  his  gratification  at  his  nephew's  success,  Mr.  Sylves- 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

ter's  brow  contracted,  and  it  was  with  difficulty  he  could 
subdue  himself  into  the  appearance  of  calm  benevolence 
necessary  to  pass  them  with  propriety. .  Had  it  been  Paula 
and  Mr.  Ensign  ! 

He  did  not  know  how  it  was  that  he  managed  to  find  her 
at  last.  But  just  as  he  was  beginning  to  realize  that  wisdom 
demanded  his  departure  from  this  scene,  he  suddenly  came 
upon  her  sitting  with  her  face  turned  toward  the  crowd  and 
waiting — for  whom  ?  He  had  never  seen  her  look  so  beau- 
tiful, possibly  because  he  had  never  before  allowed  himself 
to  gaze  upon  her  with  a  lover's  eyes.  She  had  exchanged 
her  piquant  Roman  costume  for  the  pearl  gray  satin  in 
which  Ona  had  delighted  to  array  her,  and  its  rich  substance 
and  delicate  neutral  tint  harmonized  well  with  the  amber 
brocade  of  the  curtain  against  which  she  sat. 

Power,  passion  and  purity  breathed  in  her  look,  and  lent 
enchantment  to  her  form.  She  was  poetry's  unique  jewel, 
and  at  this  moment,  thought  rather  than  merriment  sat  upon 
her  lips,  and  haunted  her  somewhat  tremulous  smiles.  He 
approached  her  as  a  priest  to  his  shrine,  but  once  at  her 
side,  once  in  view  of  her  first  startled  blush,  stooped  pas- 
sionately, and  forgetting  everything  but  the  suspense  at 
his  heart,  asked  with  a  look  and  tone  such  as  he  had  never 
before  bestowed  upon  her,  if  the  play  which  he  had  seen 
that  evening  had  been  real,  or  only  the  baseless  fabric  of  a 
dream. 

She  understood  him  and  drew  back  with  a  look  almost  of 
awe,  shaking  her  head  and  replying  in  a  startled  way,  "  I  do 


FROM  A    TO   Z.  361 

not  know,  I  dare  not  say,  I  scarcely  have  taken  time  to 
think." 

"  Then  take  it,"  he  murmured  in  a  voice  that  shook  her 
body  and  soul,  "  for  /  must  know,  if  he  does  not."  And 
without  venturing  another  word,  or  supplying  by  look  or 
gesture  any  explanation  of  his  unexpected  appearance,  or  as 
equally  unexpected  departure,  he  bowed  before  her  as  if  she 
had  been  a  queen  instead  of  the  child  he  had  been  wont 
in  other  days  to  regard  her,  and  speedily  left  her  side. 

But  he  had  not  taken  two  steps  before  he  paused.  Mr. 
"Ensign  was  approaching. 

'*  Mr.  Sylvester  !  you  are  worse  than  the  old  woman  of 
the  tale,  who  declaring  she  would  not,  that  nothing  could 
ever  induce  her  to — did" 

"  You  utter  a  deeper  truth  than  you  realize,"  returned 
that  gentleman,  with  a  grave  emphasis  meant  rather  for  her 
ears  than  his.  "  It  is  the  curse  of  mortals  to  overrate  their 
strength  in  the  face  of  great  temptations.  I  am  no  excep- 
tion to  the  rule."  And  with  a  second  bow  that  included  this 
apparently  triumphant  lover  within  its  dignified  sweep,  he 
calmly  proceeded  upon  his  way,  and  in  a  few  moments  had 
left  the  house. 

Mr.  Ensign,  who  for  all  his  careless  disposition,  was 
quick  to  recognize  depths  in  others,  stared  after  his  com- 
manding figure  until  he  had  disappeared,  then  turned  and 
looked  at  Paula.  Why  did  his  heart  sink,  and  the  lights  and 
joy  and  promise  of  the  evening  seem  to  turn  dark  and 
shrivel  to  nothing  before  his  eyes  ! 


XXXIII. 

TWO    LETTERS. 

•   ;  "I  have  no  other  but  a  woman's  reason", 

I  think  him  so,  because  1  think  him  so." 

— Two  GENTLEMEN  OF  VERONA. 

A  WOMAN  who  has  submitted  to  the  undivided  attentions 
of  a  gentleman  for  any  length  of  time,  feels  herself  more  or 
less  bound  to  him,  whether  any  special  words  of  devotion 
have  passed  between  them  or  not,  particularly  if  from  sen- 
sitiveness of  nature,  she  has  manifested  any  pleasure  in  his 
society.  Paula  therefore  felt  as  if  her  wings  had  been  caught 
in  a  snare,  when  Mr.  Ensign  upon  leaving  her  that  evening, 
put  a  small  note  in  her  hand,  saying  that  he  would  do  him- 
self the  pleasure  of  calling  for  his  reply  the  next  day.  She 
did  not  need  to  open  it.  She  knew  intuitively  the  manly 
honest  words  with  which  he  would  be  likely  to  offer  his  heart 
and  life  for  her  acceptance;  yet  she  did  open  it  almost  as  soon 
as  she  reached  her  room,  sitting  down  in  her  outside  wraps 
for  the  purpose.  She  was  not  disappointed.  Every  line  was 
earnest,  ardent,  and  respectful.  A  true  love  and  a  happy 
cheerful  home  awaited  her  if — the  stupendous  meaning  la- 
tent in  an  if! 

With  folded  hands  lying  across  the  white  page,  with 
glance  fixed  on  the  fire  always  kept  burning  brightly  in 


FROM  A    TO  Z.  363 

the  grate,  she  sat  querying  her  own  soul  and  the  awful 
future.  He  was  such  a  charming  companion ;  life  had 
flashed  and  glimmered  with  a  thousand  lights  and  colors 
since  she  knew  him  ;  his  very  laugh  made  her  want  to  sing. 
With  him  she  would  move  in  sunshiny  paths,  open  to  the 
regard  of  all  the  world,  giving  and  receiving  good.  Life 
would  need  no  veils  and  love  no  check.  A  placid  stream 
would  bear  her  on  through  fields  of  smiling  verdure.  Dread 
hopes,  strange  fears,  uneasy  doubts  and  vague  unrests,  would 
not  disturb  the  heart  that  rested  its  faith  upon  his  frank  and 
manly  bosom.  A  breeze  blew  through  his  life  that  would 
sweep  all  such  evils  from  the  path  of  her  who  walked  in 
trust  and  love  by  his  side.  In  trust  and  love  ;  ah  !  that  was 
it.  She  trusted  him,  but  did  she  love  him?  At  one  time  she 
had  been 'convinced  that  she  did,  else  these  past  few  weeks 
would  have  owned  a  different  history.  He  came  upon  her 
so  brightly  amid  her  gloom  ;  filled  her  days  with  such  genial 
thoughts,  and  drew  the  surface  of  her  soul  so  unconsciously 
after  him.  It  was  like  a  zephyr  sweeping  over  the  sea; 
every  billow  that  leaps  to  follow  seems  to  own  the  power  of 
that  passing  wind.  But  could  she  think  so  now,  since  she 
had  found  that  the  mere  voice  and  look  of  another  man  had 
power  to  awaken  depths  such  as  she  could  not  name  and 
scarcely  as  yet  had  been  able  to  recognize  ?  that  though  the 
billows  might  flow  under  the  genial  smile  of  her  young  lover, 
the  tide  rose  only  at  the  call  of  a  deeper  voice  and  a  more 
imposing  presence  ? 

She  was  a  thinking  spirit  and  recoiled  from  yielding  too 


364  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

readily  to  any  passing  impulse.  Love  was  a  sacrament  in 
her  eyes  ;  something  entirely  too  precious  to  be  accepted  in 
counterfeit.  She  must  know  the  secret  of  her  inclinations, 
must  weigh  the  influence  that  swayed  her,  for  once  given 
over  to  earth's  sublimest  passion,  she  felt  that  it  would  have 
power  to  sweep  her  on  to  an  eternity  of  bliss  or  suffering. 

She  therefore  forced  herself  to  probe  deep  into  the  past, 
and  pitilessly  asked  her  conscience,  what  her  emotions  had 
been  in  reference  to  Mr.  Sylvester  before  she  positively  knew 
that  love  'for  her  as  a  woman  had  taken  the  place  of  his 
former  fatherly  regard.  Her  blushing  cheek  seemed  to 
answer  for  her.  Right  or  wrong,  her  life  had  never  been 
complete  away  from  his  presence.  She  was  lonesome  and 
unsatisfied.  When  Mr.  Ensign  came  she  thought  her  pre- 
vious unrest  was  explained,  but  the  letter  from  Cicely  de- 
scribing Mr.  Sylvester  as  sick  and  sorrowful,  had  withdrawn 
the  veil  from  the  delusion,  and  though  it  had  settled  again 
with  Mr.  Sylvester's  studied  refusal  to  accept  her  devotion, 
was  by  this  evening's  betrayal  utterly  wrenched  away  and 
trampled  into  oblivion.  By  every  wild  throb  of  her  heart  at 
the  sound  of  his  voice  in  her  ear,  by  every  outreaching  of 
her  soul  to  enter  into  his  every  mood,  by  the  deep  sensation 
of  rest  she  felt  in  his  presence,  and  the  uneasy  longing  that 
absorbed  her  in  his  absence,  she  knew  that  she  loved  Mr. 
Sylvester  as  she  never  could  his  younger,  blither,  and  per- 
haps nobler  rival.  Each  word  spoken  by  him  lay  treasured 
in  her  heart  of  hearts.  When  she  thought  of  manly  beauty, 
his  face  and  figure  started  upon  her  from  the  surrounding 


FROM  A    TO  Z.  365 

shadows,  making  all  romance  possible  and  poetry  the  truest 
expression  of  the  human  soul.  While  she  lived,  he  must 
ever  seem  the  man  of  men  to  charm  the  eye,  affect  the  heart, 
and  move  the  soul.  Yet  she  hesitated.  Why  ? 

There  is  nothing  so  hard  to  acknowledge  to  ourselves  as 
the  presence  of  a  blemish  in  the  character  of  those  we  love 
and  long  to  revere.  It  was  like  giving  herself  to  the  rack  to 
drag  from  its  hiding-place  and  confront  in  all  its  hideous 
deformity,  the  doubt  which,  unconfessed  perhaps,  had  of  late 
mingled  with  her  great  reverence  and  admiring  affection  for 
this  not  easily  to  be  comprehended  man.  But  in  this  mo- 
mentous hour  she  had  power  to  do  it.  Conscience  and  self- 
respect  demanded  that  the  image  before  which  she  was 
ready  to  bow  with  such  abandon,  should  be  worthy  her 
worship.  She  was  not  one  who  could  carry  offerings  to  a 
clouded  shrine.  She  must  see  the  glory  shining  from  be- 
tween the  cherubim.  "  I  must  worship  with  my  spirit  as 
well  as  with  my  body,  and  how  can  I  do  that  if  there  is  a 
spot  on  his  manhood,  or  a  false  note  in  his  heart.  If  I  did 
but  know  the  secret  of  his  past ;  why  the  prisoner  sits  in  the 
dungeon !  He  is  gentle,  he  is  kindly,  he  loves  goodness  and 
strives  to  lead  me  in  the  paths  of  purity  and  wisdom,  and 
yet  something  that  is  not  good  or  pure  clings  to  him,  which 
he  has  never  been  able  to  shake  loose.  I  perceive  it  in  his 
melancholy  glance ;  I  catch  its  accents  in  his  uneven  tones ; 
it  rises  upon  me  from  his  most  thoughtful  words,  and  makes 
his  taking  of  a  vow  fearfully  and  warningly  significant.  Yet 
how  much  he  is  honored  by  his  fellow-men,  and  with  what 


366  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

reliance  they  look  up  to  him  for  guidance  and  support.  "  If 
I  only  knew  the  secrets  of  his  heart !  "  thought  she. 

It  was  a  trembling  scale  that  hung  balancing  in  .that 
young  girl's  hand  that  night.  On  one  side,  frankness, 
cheerfulness,  manly  worth,  honest  devotion,  and  a  home  with 
every  adjunct  of  peace  and  prosperity  ;  on  the  other,  love, 
gratitude,  longing,  admiration,  and  a  dark  shadow  enveloping 
all,  called  doubt.  The  scale  would  not  adjust  itself.  It  tore 
her  heart  to  turn  from  Mr.  Sylvester,  it  troubled  her  con- 
science to  dismiss  the  thought  of  Mr.  Ensign.  The  question 
was  yet  undecided  when  she  rose  and  began  putting  away 
her  ornaments  for  the  night. 

What  was  there  on  her  dressing-table  that  made  her  pause 
with  such  a  start,  and  cast  that  look  of  half  beseeching  in- 
quiry at  her  own  image  in  the  glass  ?  Only  another  envelope 
with  her  name  written  upon  it.  But  the  way  in  which  she 
took  it  in  her  hand,  and  the  half  guilty  air  with  which  she 
stole  back  with  it  to  the  fire,  would  have  satisfied  any  looker- 
on  I  imagine,  that  conscience  or  no  conscience,  debate  or  no 
debate,  the  writer  of  these  lines  had  gained  a  hold  upon  her 
heart,  which  no  other  could  dispute. 

It  was  a  compactly  written  note  and  ran  thus  : 

"  A  man  is  not  always  responsible  for  what  he  does  in 
moments  of  great  suspense  or  agitation.  But  if,  upon  reflec- 
tion, he  finds  that  he  has  spoken  harshly  or  acted  unwisely, 
it  is  his  duty  to  remedy  his  fault ;  and  therefore  it  is  that  I 
write  you  this  little  note.  Paula,  I  love  you  ;  not  as  I  once 


FROM  A    TO   Z.  367 

did,  with  a  fatherly  longing  and  a  protective  delight,  but 
passionately,  yearningly,  and  entirely,  with  the  whole  force 
of  my  somewhat  disappointed  life  ;  as  a  man  loves  for  whom 
the  world  has  dissolved  leaving  but  one  creature  in  it,  and 
that  a  woman.  I  showed  you  this  too  plainly  to-night.  I 
have  no  right  to  startle  or  intimidate  your  sweet  soul  into 
any  relation  that  might  hereafter  curb  or  dissatisfy  you ;  if 
you  can  love  me  freely,  with  no  back-lookings  to  any 
younger  lover  left  behind,  know  that  naught  you  could 
bestow,  can  ever  equal  the  world  of  love  and  feeling  which  I 
long  to  lavish  upon  you  from  my  heart  of  hearts.  But  if 
another  has  already  won  upon  your  affections  too  much  for 
you  to  give  an  undivided  response  to  my  appeal,  then  by  all 
the  purity  and  innocence  of  your  nature,  forget  I  have  ever 
marred  the  past  or  disturbed  the  present  by  any  word 
warmer  than  that  of  a  father. 

"  I  shall  not  meet  you  at  breakfast  and  possibly  not  at 
dinner  to-morrow,  but  when  evening  comes  I  shall  look  for 
my  soul's  dearer  and  better  half,  or  my  childless  manhood's 
nearest  and  most  cherished  friend,  as  God  pleaseth  and  your 
own  heart  and  conscience  shall  decree. 

"  EDWARD  SYLVESTER." 

Miss  Belinda  was  very  much  surprised  to  be  awakened 
early  the  next  morning,  by  a  pair  of  loving  arms  clasped 
yearningly  about  her  neck. 

Looking  up,  she  descried  Paula  kneeling  beside  her  bed 
in  the  faint  morning  light,  her  cheeks  burning,  and  her  eye- 


368  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

lids  drooping  ;  and  guessing  perhaps  how  it  was,  started  up 
from  her  recumbent  position  with  an  energy  strongly  sugges- 
tive of  the  charger,  that  smells  the  battle  afar  off. 

"What  has  happened?"  she  asked.  "You  look  as  if 
you  had  not  slept  a  wink." 

For  reply  Paula  pulled  aside  the  curtain  at  the  head  of 
her  bed,  and  slipped  into  her  hand  Mr.  Ensign's  letter. 
Miss  Belinda  read  it  conscientiously  through,  with  many 
grunts  of  approval,  and  having  finished  it,  laid  it  down  with 
a  significant  nod,  after  which  she  turned  and  surveyed  Paula 
with  keen  but  cautious  scrutiny.  "  And  you  don't  know 
what  answer  to  give,"  she  asked. 

"  I  should,"  said  Paula,  "  if — Oh  aunt,  you  know  what 
.  stands  in  my  way  !  I  have  seen  it  in  your  eyes  for  some 
time.  There  is  some  one  else — " 

"  But  he  has  not  spoken  ? "  vigorously  ejaculated  her 
aunt. 

Without  answering,  Paula  put  into  her  hand,  with  a  slow 
reluctance  she  had  not  manifested  before,  a  second  little 
note,  and  then  hid  her  head  amid  the  bedclothes,  waiting 
with  quickly  beating  heart  for  what  her  aunt  might  say. 

She  did  not  seem  in  haste  to  speak,  but  when  she  did,  her 
words  came  with  a  quick  sigh  that  echoed  very  drearily  in 
the  young  girl's  anxious  ears.  "  You  have  been  placed  by 
this  in  a  somewhat  painful  position.  I  sympathize  with  you, 
my  child.  It  is  very  hard  to  give  denial  to  a  benefactor." 

Paula's  head  drew  nearer  to  her  aunt's  breast,  her  arms 
crept  round  her  neck.  "  But  must  I  ?"  she  breathed. 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  369 

Miss  Belinda  knitted  her  brows  with  great  force,  and 
stared  severely  at  the  wall  opposite.  "  I  am  sorry  there  is 
any  question  about  it,"  she  replied. 

Paula  started  up  and  looked  at  her  with  sudden  determi- 
nation. "  Aunt,"  said  she,  "  what  is  your  objection  to  Mr. 
Sylvester  ? " 

Miss  Belinda  shook  her  head,  and  pushing  the  girl  gently 
away,  hurriedly  arose  and  began  dressing  with  great  rapidity. 
Not  until  she  was  entirely  prepared  for  breakfast  did  she 
draw  Paula  to  her,  and  prepare  to  answer  her  question. 

"  My  objection  to  him  is,  that  I  do  not  thoroughly  under- 
stand him.  I  am  afraid  of  the  skeleton  in  the  closet,  Paula. 
I  never  feel  at  ease  when  I  am  with  him,  much  as  I  admire 
his  conversation  and  appreciate  the  undoubtedly  noble  in- 
stincts of  his  heart.  His  brow  is  not  open  enough  to  satisfy 
an  eye  which  has  accustomed  itself  to  the  study  of  human 
nature." 

"  He  has  had  many  sorrows  !  "  Paula  faintly  exclaimed, 
stricken  by  this  echo  of  her  own  doubts. 

"Yes,"  returned  her  aunt,  "and  sorrow  bows  the  head 
and  darkens  the  eye,  but  it  does  not  make  the  glance  waver- 
ing or  its  expression  mysterious." 

"  Some  sorrows  might,"  urged  Paula  tremuously,  argu- 
ing as  much  with  her  own  doubts  as  with  those  of  her  aunt. 
"  His  have  been  of  no  ordinary  nature.  I  have  never  told 
you,  aunt,  but  there  were  circumstances  attending  Cousin 
Ona's  death  that  made  it  especially  harrowing.  He  had  a 
stormy  interview  with  her  the  very  morning  she  was  killed ; 


37O  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

words  passed  between  them,  and  he  left  her  with  a  look  that 
was  almost  desperate.  When  he  next  saw  her,  she  lay  life- 
less and  inert  before  him.  I  sometimes  think  that  the 
shadow  that  fell  upon  him  at  that  hour  will  never  pass 
away." 

"  Do  you  know  what  was  the  subject  of  their  disagree- 
ment ?  "  asked  Miss  Belinda  anxiously. 

"  No,  but  I  have  reason  to  believe  it  had  something  to 
do  with  business  affairs,  as  nothing  else  could  ever  arouse 
Cousin  Ona  into  being  at  all  disagreeable." 

"  I  don't  like  that  phrase,  business  affairs;  like  charity,  it 
covers  entirely  too  much.  Have  you  never  had  any  doubts 
yourself  about  Mr.  Sylvester  ?  " 

"  Ah,  you  touch  me  to  the  quick,  aunt.  I  may  have  had 
my  doubts,  but  when  I  look  back  on  the  past,  I  cannot  see 
as  they  have  any  very  substantial  foundation.  Supposing, 
aunt,  that  he  has  been  merely  unfortunate,  and  I  should 
live  to  find  that  I  had  discarded  one  whose  heart  was  dark- 
ened by  nothing  but  sojrow  ?  I  should  never  forgive  myself, 
nor  could  life  yield  me  any  recompense  that  would  make 
amends  for  a  sacrifice  so  unnecessary." 

"  You  love  him,  then,  very  dearly,  Paula  ?  " 

A  sudden  light  fell  on  the  young  girl's  face.  "  Hearts 
cannot  tell  their  love,"  said  she,  "  but  since  I  received  this 
letter  from  him,  it  has  seemed  as  if  my  life  hung  balancing 
on  the  question,  as  to  whether  he  is  worthy  of  a  woman's 
homage.  If  he  is  not,  I  would  give  my  life  to  have  him  so. 
The  world  is  only  dear  to  me  now  as  it  holds  him." 


FROM  A     TO  Z.  371 

Miss  Belinda  picked  up  Mr.  Ensign's  letter  with  trem- 
bling fingers.  "  I  thought  you  were  safe  when  the  younger 
man  came  to  woo,"  said  she.  "  Girls,  as  a  rule,  prefer  what 
is  bright  to  what  is  sombre,  and  Mr.  Ensign  is  truly  a  very 
agreeable  as  well  as  worthy  young  man." 

"  Yes,  aunt,  and  he  came  very  near  stealing  my  heart  as 
he  undoubtedly  did  my  fancy,  but  a  stronger  hand  snatched 
it  away,  and  now  I  do  not  know  what  to  do  or  how  to  act,  so 
as  to  awaken  in  the  future  no  remorse  or  vain  regrets." 

Miss  Belinda  opened  the  letters  again  and  consulted  their 
contents  in  a  matter-of-fact  way.  "  Mr.  Ensign  proposes  to 
come  this  afternoon  for  his  answer,  while  Mr.  Sylvester 
defers  seeing  you  till  evening.  What  if  I  seek  Mr.  Sylvester 
this  morning  and  have  a  little  conversation  with  him,  which 
shall  determine,  for  once  and  all,  the  question  which  so 
troubles  us  ?  Would  you  not  find  it  easier  to  meet  Mr.  En- 
sign when  he  comes?" 

"You  talk  to  Mr.  Sylvester,  and  upon  such  a  topic  ! 
Oh,  I  could  not  bear  that.  Pardon  me,  aunt,  but  I  think  I 
am  more  jealous  of  his  feelings  than  of  my  own.  If  his 
secret  can  be  learned  in  a  half-hour's  talk,  it  must  be  listened 
to  by  no  one  but  myself.  And  I  believe  it  can,"  she  mur- 
mured reverently  ;  "  he  is  so  tender  of  me  he  would  never 
let  me  go  blindfold  into  any  path,  concerning  which  I  had 
once  expressed  anxiety.  If  I  ask  him  whether  there  is  any 
good  reason  before  God  or  man  why  I  should  not  give  him 
my  entire  faith  and  homage,  he  will  answer  honestly,  though 
it  be  the  destruction  of  his  hopes  to  do  so? " 


3/2  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Have  you  such  trust  as  that  in  his  uprightness  as  a 
lover,  and  the  guardian  of  your  happiness  ?  " 

"  Have  not  you,  aunt  ?  " 

And  Miss  Belinda  remembering  his  words  on  the  occasion 
of  his  first  proposal  to  adopt  Paula,  was  forced  to  acknowl- 
edge that  she  had. 

So  without  further  preliminaries,  it  was  agreed  upon 
that  Paula  should  refrain  from  making  a  final  decision  un- 
til she  had  eased  her  heart  by  an  interview  with  Mr.  Syl- 
vester. 

"  Meantime,  you  can  request  Mr.  Ensign  to  wait  another 
day  for  his  answer,"  said  Miss  Belinda. 

But  Paula  with  a  look  of  astonishment  shook  her  head. 
"  Is  it  you  who  would  counsel  me  to  such  a  piece  of  coquetry 
as  that  ?  "  said  she.  "  No,  dear  aunt,  my  heart  is  not  with 
Mr.  Ensign,  as  you  know,  and  it  is  impossible  for  me  to 
encourage  him.  If  Mr.  Sylvester  should  prove  unworthy  of 
my  affection,  I  must  bear,  as  best  I  may,  the  loss  which  must 
accrue ;  but  till  he  does,  let  me  not  dishonor  my  woman- 
hood by  allowing  nope  to  enter,  even  for  a  passing  moment, 
the  breast  of  his  rival." 

Miss  Belinda  blushed,  and  drew  her  niece  fondly  towards 
her.  "  You  are  right,"  said  she,  "  and  my  great  desire  for 
your  happiness  has  led  me  into  error.  Honesty  is  the  no- 
blest adjunct  of  all  true  love,  and  must  never  be  sacrificed  to 
considerations  of  selfish  expediency.  The  refusal  which  you 
contemplate  bestowing  upon  Mr.  Ensign,  must  be  forwarded 
to  him  at  once." 


FROM  A.    TO  Z  373 

And  with  a  final  embrace,  in  which  Miss  Belinda  allowed 
herself  to  let  fall  some  few  natural  tears  of  disappointment, 
she  dismissed  the  young  girl  to  her  task. 


XXXIV. 

PAULA    MAKES   HER   CHOICE. 

"  Good  fortune  then, 
To  make  me  bless't  or  cursed'st  among  men." 

— MERCHANT  OF  VENICE. 

IT  was  evening  in  the  Sylvester  mansion.  Mr.  Sylvester 
who,  according  to  his  understanding  with  Paula,  had  been 
absent  from  his  home  aH»  day,  had  just  come  in  and  now 
stood  in  his  library  waiting  for  the  coming  footfall  that 
should  decide  whether  the  future  held  for  him  any  promise 
of  joy. 

He  had  never  looked  more  worthy  of  a  woman's  regard 
than  he  did  that  night.  A  matter  that  had  been  troubling 
him  for  some  time  had  just  been  satisfactorily  disposed  of, 
and  not  a  shadow,  so  far  as  he  knew,  lay  upon  his  business 
outlook.  This  naturally  brightened  his  cheek  and  lent  a 
light  to  his  eye.  Then,  hope  is  no  mean  beautifier,  and  this 
he  possessed  notwithstanding  the  disparity  of  years  between 
himself  and  Paula.  It  was  not,  however,  of  sufficiently  as- 
sured a  nature  to  prevent  him  from  starting  at  every  sound 
^rom  above,  and  flushing  with  quite  a  disagreeable  sense  of  be- 
trayal when  the  door  opened  and  Bertram  entered  the  room, 
instead  of  the  gentle  and  exquisite  being  he  had  expected. 

"  Uncle,  I  am  so  full  of  happiness,  I  had  to  stop  and 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  375 

bestow  a  portion  of  it  upon  you.  Do  you  think  any  one 
could  mistake  the  nature  of  Miss  Stuyvesant's  feelings,  who 
saw  her  last  night  ?  " 

"  Hardly,"  was  the  smiling  reply.  "  At  all  events  I 
have  not  felt  like  wasting  much  but  pleasant  sympathy  upon 
you.  Your  pathway  to  happiness  looks  secure,  my  boy." 

"  His  nephew  gave  him  a  wistful  glance,  but  hid  his 
thought  whatever  it  was.  "  I  am  going  to  see  her  to-night," 
remarked  he.  "  I  arn  afraid  my  love  is  something  like  a 
torrent  that  has  once  burst  its  barrier  ;  it  cannot  rest  until  it 
has  worked  its  channel  and  won  its  rightful  repose." 

"  That  is  something  the  way  with  all  love,"  returned  his 
uncle.  "  It  may  be  dallied  with  while  asleep,  but  once 
aroused,  better  meet  a  lion  in  his  fury  or  a  tempest  in  its 
rush.  Are  you  going  to  test  your  hope,  to-night  ?  " 

The  young  man  flushed.  "  I  cannot  say."  But  in  another 
moment  gayly  added,  "  I  only  know  that  I  am  prepared  for 
any  emergency." 

"  Well,  my  boy,  I  wish  you  God-speed.  If  ever  a  man 
has  won  a  right  to  happiness,  you  are  that  man ;  and  you 
shall  enjoy  it  too,  if  any  word  or  action  of  mine  can  serve  to 
advance  it." 

"  Thank  you  !  "  replied  Bertram,  and  with  a  bright 
look  around  the  apartment,  prepared  to  take  his  leave. 
"  When  I  come  back,"  he  remarked,  with  a  touch  of  that 
manly  naiveti  to  which  I  have  before  alluded,  "  I  hope  I 
shall  not  find  you  alone." 

Ignoring  this  wish  which  was  re-echoed  somewhat  too 


3/6  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

deeply  within  his  own  breast  for  light  expression,  Mr. 
Sylvester  accompanied  his  nephew  to  the  front  door. 

"  Let  us  see  what  kind  of  a  night  it  is,"  observed  he, 
stepping  out  upon  the  stoop.  "  It  is  going  to  rain." 

"  So  it  is,"  returned  Bertram,  with  a  quick  glance  over- 
head ;  "  but  I  shall  not  let  such  a  little  fuss  as  that  deter  me 
from  fulfilling  my  engagement."  And  bestowing  a  hasty  nod 
upon  his  uncle,  he  bounded  down  the  step. 

Instantly  a  man  who  was  loitering  along  the  walk  in  front 
of  the  house,  stopped,  as  if  struck  by  these  simple  words, 
turned,  gave  Bertram  a  quick  look,  and  then  with  a  sly 
glance  back  at  the  open  door  where  Mr.  Sylvester  still  stood 
gazing  at  the  lowering  heavens,  set  himself  cautiously  to 
follow  him. 

Mr.  Sylvester,  who  was  too  much  pre-occupied  to  observe 
this  suspicious  action,  remained  for  a  moment  contemplating 
the  sky  ;  then  with  an  aimless  glance  down  the  avenue,  dur- 
ing which  his  eye  undoubtedly  fell  upon  Bertram  and  the 
creeping  shadow  of  a  man  behind  him,  closed  the  door  and 
returned  to  the  library. 

The  sight  of  another's  joy  has  the  tendency  to  either 
unduly  depress  the  spirits  or  greatly  to  elate  them.  When 
Paula  came  into  the  room  a  few  minutes  later,  it  was  to  find 
,Mr.  Sylvester  awaiting  her  with  an  expression  that  was 
almost  radiant.  It  made  her  duty  seem  doubly  hard,  and 
she  came  forward  with  the  slow  step  of  one  who  goes  to 
meet  or  carry  doom.  He  saw,  and  instantly  the  light  died 
out  of  his  face,  leaving  it  one  blank  of  despair.  But  control- 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  377 

ling  himself,  he  took  her  cold  hand  in  his,  and  looking  down 
upon  her  with  a  tender  but  veiled  regard,  asked  in  those 
low  and  tremulous  tones  that  exerted  such  an  influence 
upon  her : 

"  Do  I  see  before  me  my  affectionate  and  much  to  be 
cherished  child,  or  that  still  dearer  object  of  love  and  wor- 
ship, which  it  shall  be  the  delight  of  my  life  to  render  truly 
and  deeply  happy  ?  " 

"You  see,"  returned  she,  after  a  moment  of  silent  emo- 
tion, "a  girl  without  father  or  brother  to  advise  her  ;  who 
loves,  or  believes  she  does,  a  great  and  noble  man,  but 
who  is  smitten  with  fear  also,  she  cannot  tell  why,  and 
trembles  to  take  a  step  to  which  no  loving  and  devoted 
friend  has  set  the  seal  of  his  approval." 

The  clasp  with  which  Mr.  Sylvester  held  her  hand  in 
his,  tightened  for  an  instant  with  irrepressible  emotion,  then 
slowly  unloosed.  Drawing  back,  he  surveyed  her  with  eyes 
that  slowly  filled  with  a  bitter  comprehension  of  her  meaning. 

"  You  are  the  only  man,"  continued  she,  with  a  glance 
of  humble  entreaty,  "  that  has  ever  stood  to  me  for  a  mo- 
ment in  the  light  of  a  relation.  You  have  been  a  father 
to  me  in  days  gone  by,  and  to  you  it  therefore  seems  most 
natural  for  me  to  appeal  when  a  question  comes  up  that 
either  puzzles  or  distresses  me.  Mr.  Sylvester,  you  have 
offered  me  your  love  and  the  refuge  of  your  home  ;  if  you 
say  that  in  your  judgment  the  counsel  of  all  true  friends 
would  be  for  me  to  accept  this  love,  then  my  hand  is  yours 
and  with  it  my  heart ;  a  heart  that  only  hesitates  because  it 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

would  fain  be  sure  it  has  the  smile  of  heaven  upon  its  every 
prompting." 

"  Paula  !  " 

The  voice  was  so  strange  she  looked  up  to  see  if  it  really 
was  Mr.  Sylvester  who  spoke.  He  had  sunk  back  into  a 
chair  and  had  covered  his  face  with  his  hands.  With  a  cry 
she  moved  towards  him,  but  he  motioned  her  back. 

"  Condemned  to  be  my  own  executioner  !  "  he  muttered. 
"  Placed  on  the  rack  and  bid  to  turn  the  wheel  that  shall 
wrench  my  own  sinews  !  My  God,  'tis  hard  !  " 

She  did  not  hear  the  words,  but  she  saw  the  action. 
Slowly  the  blood  left  her  cheek,  and  her  hand  fell  upon  her 
swelling  breast  with  a  despairing  gesture  that  would  have 
smitten  Miss  Belinda  to  the  heart,  could  she  have  seen  it. 
"I  have  asked  too  much,"  she  whispered. 

With  a  start  Mr.  Sylvester  rose.  "  Paula,"  said  he,  in  a 
stern  and  different  tone,  "  is  this  fear  of  which  you  speak, 
the  offspring  of  your  own  instincts,  or  has  it  been  engen- 
dered in  your  breast  by  the  words  of  another?" 

"  My  Aunt  Belinda  is  in  my  confidence,  if  it  is  she  to 
whom  you  allude,"  rejoined  she,  meeting  his  glance  fully 
and  bravely.  "  But  from  no  lips  but  yours  could  any  words 
proceed  capable  of  affecting  my  estimate  of  you  as  the  one 
best  qualified  to  make  me  happy." 

"  Then  it  is  my  words  alone  that  have  awakened  this 
doubt,  this  apprehension  ?  " 

"  I  have  not  spoken  of  doubt,"  said  she,  but  her  eyelids 
fell. 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  3/9 

"  No,  thank  God  !  "  he  passionately  exclaimed.  "  And 
yet  you  feel  it,"  he  went  on  more  composedly.  "  I  have 
studied  your  face  too  long  and  closely  not  to  understand 
it." 

She  put  out  her  hands  in  appeal,  but  for  once  it  passed 
unheeded. 

"  Paula,"  said  he,  "  you  must  tell  me  just  what  that  doubt 
is  ;  I  must  know  what  is  passing  in  your  mind.  You  say 
you  love  me — "  he  paused,  and  a  tremble  shook  him  from 
head  to  foot,  but  he  went  inexorably  on — "  it  is  more  than 
I  had  a  right  to  expect,  and  God  knows  I  am  grateful  for  the 
precious  and  inestimable  boon,  far  as  it  is  above  my  deserts  ; 
but  while  loving  me,  you  hesitate  to  give  me  your  hand. 
Why  ?  What  is  the  name  of  the  doubt  that  disturbs  that 
pure  breast  and  affects  your  choice  ?  Tell  me,  I  must 
know." 

"  You  ask  me  to  dissect  my  own  heart !  "  she  cried, 
quivering  under  the  torture  of  his  glance ;  "  how  can  I  ? 
What  do  I  know  of  its  secret  springs  or  the  terrors  that 
disturb  its  even  beatings?  I  cannot  name  my  fear  ;  it  has 
no  name,  or  if  it  has — Oh,  sir !  "  she  cried  in  a  burst  of  pas- 
sionate longing,  "your  life  has  been  one  of  sorrow  and  dis- 
appointment ;  grief  has  touched  you  close,  and  you  might 
well  be  the  melancholy  and  sombre  man  that  all  behold.  I 
do  not  shrink  from  grief  ;  say  that  the  only  shadow  that  lie* 
across  your  dungeon-door  is  that  cast  by  the  great  and 
heart-rending  sorrows  of  your  life,  and  without  question  and 
without  fear  I  enter  that  dungeon  with  you — " 


380  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

The  hand  he  raised  stopped  her.  "  Paula,"  cried  he, 
"  do  you  believe  in  repentance  ? " 

The  words  struck  her  like  a  blow.  Falling  slowly  back, 
she  looked  at  him  for  an  instant,  then  her  head  sank  on  her 
breast. 

"  I  know  what  your  hatred  of  sin  is,"  continued  he.  "  I 
have  seen  your  whole  form  tremble  at  the  thought  of  evil. 
Is  your  belief  in  the  redeeming  power  of  God  as  great  as 
your  recoil  from  the  wrong  that  makes  that  redemption 
necessary  ?  " 

Quickly  her  head  raised,  a  light  fell  on  her  brow,  and  her 
lips  moved  in  a  vain  effort  to  utter  what  her  eyes  uncon- 
sciously expressed. 

"  Paula,  I  would  be  unworthy  the  name  of  a  man,  if  with 
the  consciousness  of  possessing  a  dark  and  evil  nature,  I 
strove  by  use  of  any  hypocrisy  or  specious  pretense  at  good- 
ness, to  lure  to  my  side  one  so  exceptionally  pure,  beautiful 
and  high-minded.  The  ravening  wolf  and  the  innocent 
lamb  would  be  nothing  to  it.  Neither  would  I  for  an  instant 
be  esteemed  worthy  of  your  regard,  if  in  this  hour  of  my 
wooing  there  remained  in  my  life  the  shadow  of  any  latent 
wrong  that  might  hereafter  rise  up  and  overwhelm  you. 
Whatever  of  wrong  has  ever  been  committed  by  me — and  it 
is  my  punishment  that  I  must  acknowledge  before  your  pure 
eyes  that  my  soul  is  not  spotless — was  done  in  the  past,  and 
is  known  only  to  my  own  heart  and  the  God  who  I  reverently 
trust  has  long  ago  pardoned  me.  The  shadow  is  that  of 
remorse,  not  of  fear,  and  the  evil,  one  against  my  own  soul, 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  381 

rather  than  against  the  life  or  fortunes  of  other  men.  Paula, 
such  sins  can  be  forgiven  if  one  has  a  mind  to  comprehend 
the  temptations  that  beset  men  in  their  early  struggles.  I 
have  never  forgiven  myself,  but — "  He  paused,  looked  at 
her  for  an  instant,  his  hand  clenched  over  his  heart,  his 
whole  noble  form  shaken  by  struggle,  then  said — "  forgive 
ness  implies  no  promise,  Paula  ;  you  shall  never  link  yourself 
to  a  man  who  has  been  obliged  to  bow  his  head  in  shame 
before  you,  but  by  the  mercy  that  informs  that  dear  glance 
and  trembling  lip,  do  you  think  you  can  ever  grow  to  forgive 
me?  " 

"  Oh,"  she  cried,  with  a  burst  of  sobs,  violent  as  her  grief 
and  shame,  "  God  be  merciful  to  me,  as  I  am  merciful  to 
those  who  repent  of  their  sins  and  do  good  and  not  evil  all 
the  remaining  days  of  their  life." 

"  I  thought  you  would  forgive  me,"  murmured  he,  look- 
ing down  upon  her,  as  the  miser  eyes  the  gold  that  has 
slipped  from  his  paralyzed  hand.  "  Him  whom  the  hard- 
hearted sinner  and  the  hypocrite  despise,  God's  dearest 
lambs  regard  with  mercy.  I  learned  to  revere  God  before  I 
knew  you,  Paula,  but  I  learned  to  love  Him  in  the  light  ot 
your  gentleness  and  your  trust.  Rise  up  now  and  let  me 
wipe  away  your  tears — my  daughter." 

She  sprang  up  as  if  stung.  "  No,  no,"  she  cried,  "  not 
that ;  I  cannot  bear  that  yet.  I  must  think,  I  must  know 
what  all  this  means,"  and  she  laid  her  hand  upon  her  heart. 
"  God  surely  does  not  give  so  much  love  for  one's  undoing; 
if  I  were  not  destined  to  comfort  a  life  so  saddened,  He 


3§2  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

would  have  bequeathed  me    more    pity  and   less — "     The 

» 

lifted  head  fell,  the  word  she  would  have  uttered,  stirred  her 
bosom,  but  not  her  lips. 

It  was  a  trial  to  his  strength,  but  his  firm  man's  heart  did 
not  waver.  "  You  do  comfort  me,"  said  he  ;  "  from  early 
morning  to  late  night  your  presence  is  my  healing  and  my 
help,  and  will  always  be  so,  whatever  may  befal.  A  daughter 
can  do  much,  my  Paula." 

She  took  a  step  back  towards  the  door,  her  eyes,  dark 
with  unfathomable  impulses,  flashing  on  him  through  the 
tears  that  hung  thickly  on  her  lashes. 

"  Is  it  for  your  own  sake  or  for  mine,  that  you  make  use 
of  that  word  ?  "  said  she. 

He  summoned  up  his  courage,  met  that  searching  glance 
with  all  its  wild,  bewildering  beauty,  and  responded,  "  Can 
you  ask,  Paula  ?  " 

With  a  lift  of  her  head  that  gave  an  almost  queenly  state- 
liness  to  her  form,  she  advanced  a  step,  and  drawing  a 
crumpled  paper  from  her  pocket,  said,  "  When  I  went  to 
my  room  last  night,  it  was  to  read  two  letters,  one  from 
yourself,  and  one  from  Mr.  Ensign.  This  is  his,  and  a 
manly  and  noble  letter  it  is  too  ;  but  hearts  have  right  to 
hearts,  and  I  was  obliged  to  refuse  his  petition."  And  with 
a  reverent  but  inexorable  hand,  she  dropped  the  letter  on  the 
burning  coals  of  the  grate  at  their  side,  and  softly  turned  to 
leave  the  room. 

"  Paula  !  "  With  a  bound  the  stern  and  hitherto  forcibly 
repressed  man,  leaped  to  her  side.  "  My  darling  !  my  life  !  " 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  383 

and  with  a  wild,  uncontrollable  impulse,  he  caught  her  for 
one  breathless  moment  to  his  heart;  then  as  suddenly  re- 
leased her,  and  laying  his  hand  in  reverence  on  her  brow, 
said  softly,  "  Now.  go  and  pray,  little  one  ;  and  when  you  are 
quite  calm,  an  hour  hence  or  a  week  hence  whichever  it  may 
be,  come  and  tell  me  my  fate  as  God  and  the  angels  reveal  it 
to  you."  And  he  smiled,  and  she  saw  his  smile,  and  went 
out  of  the  room  softly,  as  one  who  treadeth  upon  holy 
ground. 

Mr.  Sylvester  was  considered  by  his  friends  and  admirers 
as  a  proud  man.  If  a  vote  had  been  cast  among  those  who 
knew  him  best,  as  from  what  especial  passion  common  to 
humanity  he  would  soonest  recoil,  it  would  have  been 
unanimously  pronounced  shame,  and  his  own  hand  would 
have  emphasized  the  judgment  of  his  fellows.  But  shame 
which  is  open  to  the  gaze  of  the  whole  world,  differs  from 
that  which  is  sacred  to  the  eyes  of  one  human  being,  and  that 
the  one  who  lies  nearest  the  heart. 

As  Paula's  retreating  footsteps  died  away  on  the  stairs, 
and  he  awoke  to  the  full  consciousness  that  his  secret  was 
shared  by  her  whose  love  was  his  life,  and  whose  good 
opinion  had  been  his  incentive  and  his  pride,  his  first  sensa- 
tion was  one  of  unmitigated  anguish,  but  his  next,  strange  to 
say,  that  of  a  restful  relief.  He  had  cast  aside  the  cloak 
he  had  hugged  so  closely  to  his  breast  these  many  years,  and 
displayed  to  her  shrinking  gaze  the  fox  that  was  gnawing  at 
his  vitals;  and  Spartan  though  he  was,  the  dew  that  had  filled 
her  loving  eyes  was  balm  to  him.  And  not  only  that  ;  he 


384  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

had  won  claim  to  the  title  of  true  man.  Her  regard,  if 
regard  it  remained,  was  no  longer  an  airy  fabric  built  upon 
a  plausible  seeming,  but  a  firm  structure  with  knowledge  for 
its  foundation.  "  I  shall  not  live  to  whisper,  '  If  she  knew 
my  whole  life,  would  she  love  me  so  well  ?  ' ' 

His  first  marriage  had  been  so  wholly  uncongenial  and 
devoid  of  sympathy,  that  his  greatest  longing  in  connection 
with  a  fresh  contract,  was  to  enjoy  the  full  happiness  of 
perfect  union  and  mutual  trust ;  and  though  he  could  never 
have  summoned  up  courage  to  take  her  into  his  confidence, 
unsolicited,  now  that  it  had  been  done  he  would  not  have  it 
undone,  no,  not  if  by  the  doing  he  had  lost  her  confidence 
and  affection. 

But  something  told  him  he  had  not  lost  it.  That  out  of 
the  darkness  and  the  shock  of  this  very  discovery,  a  new  and 
deeper  love  would  spring,  which  having  its  birth  in  human 
frailty  and  human  repentance,  would  gain  in  the  actual  what 
it  lost  in  the  ideal,  bringing  to  his  weary,  suffering  and 
yearning  man's  nature,  the  honest  help  of  a  strong  and 
loving  sympathy,  growing  trust,  and  sweetest  because  wisest 
encouragement. 

It  was  therefore,  with  a  growing  sense  of  deep  unfath- 
omable comfort,  and  a  reverent  thankfulness  for  the  mercies 
of  God,  that  he  sat  by  the  fire  idly  watching  the  rise  and  fall 
of  the  golden  flames  above  the  fluttering  ashes  of  his  rival's 
letter,  and  dreaming  with  a  hallowing  sense  of  his  unworthi- 
ness,  upon  the  possible  bliss  of  coming  days.  Happiness 
in  its  truest  and  most  serene  sense  was  so  new  to  him,  it 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  385 

affected  him  like  the  presence  of  something  strangely  com- 
manding. He  was  awe-struck  before  it,  and  unconsciously 
bowed  his  head  at  its  contemplation.  Only  his  eyes  betrayed 
the  peace  that  comes  with  all  great  joy,  his  eyes  and  perhaps 
the  faint,  almost  unearthly  smile  that  flitted  across  his  mouth, 
disturbing  its  firm  line  and  making  his  face  for  all  its  inev- 
itable expression  of  melancholy,  one  that  his  mother  would 
have  loved  to  look  upon.  "  Paula!  "  came  now  and  then  in 
a  reverent,  yearning  accent  from  between  his  lips,  and  once 
a  low,  "  Thank  God  !  "  which  showed  that  he  was  praying. 

Suddenly  he  rose  ;  a  more  human  mood  had  set  in,  and 
he  felt  the  necessity  of  assuring  himself  that  it  was  really  he 
upon  whom  the  dreary  past  had  closed,  and  a  future  of  such 
possible  brightness  opened.  He  walked  about  the  room, 
surveying  the  rich  articles  within  it,  as  the  posssible  belong- 
ings of  the  beautiful  woman  he  adored  ;  he  stood  and 
pictured  her  as  coming  into  the  door  as  his  wife,  and  before 
he  realized  what  he  was  doing,  had  planned  certain  changes 
he  would  make  in  his  home  to  adapt  it  to  the  wants  of  her 
young  and  growing  mind,  when  with  a  strange  suddenness, 
the  door  upon  which  he  was  gazing  flew  back,  and  Bertram 
Sylvester  entered  just  as  he  had  come  from  the  street.  He 
looked  so  haggard,  so  wild,  so  little  the  picture  of  himself  as 
he  ventured  forth  a  couple  of  hours  before,  that  Mr.  Syl- 
vester started,  and  forgetting  his  happiness  in  his  alarm, 
asked  in  a  tone  of  dismay : 

"  What  has  happened  ?     Has  Miss  Stuyvesant — " 
Bertram's  hand  went  up  as  if  his  uncle  had  touched  him 


386  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

upon  a  festering  wound.  "  Don't !  "  gasped  he,  and  advanc- 
ing to  the  table,  sat  down  and  buried  his  face  for  a  moment 
in  his  arms,  then  rose,  and  summoning  up  a  certain  manly 
dignity  that  became  him  well,  met  Mr.  Sylvester's  eye  with 
forced  calmness,  and  inquired  : 

"  Did  you  know  there  was  a  thief  in  our  bank,  Uncle 
Edward  ?  " 


XXXV. 

THE    FALLING    OF    THE    SWORD. 

"  Foul  deeds  will  rise, 
Though  all  the  world  o'erwhelm  them,  to  men's  eyes." — HAMLET. 

MR.  SYLVESTER  towered  on  his  nephew  with  an  expres- 
sion such  as  few  men  had  ever  seen  even  on  his  powerful 
and  commanding  face. 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  "  asked  he,  and  his  voice  rang  like 
a  clarion  through  the  room. 

Bertram  trembled  and  for  a  moment  stood  aghast,  the 
ready  flush  bathing  his  brow  with  burning  crimson.  "  I 
mean,"  stammered  he,  with  difficulty  recovering  himself, 
"  that  when  Mr.  Stuyvesant  came  to  open  his  private  box  in 
the  bank  to-day,  that  he  not  only  found  its  lock  had  been 
tampered  with,  but  that  money  and  valuables  to  the  amount 
of  some  twelve  hundred  dollars  were  missing  from  among  its 
contents." 

"  What  ? " 

The  expression  which  had  made  Mr.  Sylvester's  brow  so 
terrible  had  vanished,  but  his  wonder  remained. 

"It  is  impossible,"  he  declared.  "Our  vaults  are  too 
well  watched  for  any  such  thing  to  occur.  He  has  made 
some  mistake  ;  a  robbery  of  that  nature  could  not  take  place 
without  detection." 


388  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  It  would  seem  not,  and  yet  the  fact  remains.  Mr. 
Stuyvesant  himself  informed  me  of  it,  to-night.  He  is  not 
a  careless  man,  nor  reckless  in  his  statements.  Some  one 
has  robbed  the  bank  and  it  remains  with  us  to  find  out 
who." 

Mr.  Sylvester,  who  had  been  standing  all  this  while,  sat 
down  like  a  man  dazed,  the  wild  lost  look  on  Bertram's  face 
daunting  him  with  a  fearful  premonition.  "  There  are  but 
four  men  who  have  access  to  the  vault  where  the  boxes  are 
kept,"  said  he  :  then  quickly,  "  Why  did  Mr.  Stuyvesant 
wait  till  to-night  to  speak  to  you  ?  Why  did  he  not  notify 
us  at  once  of  a  loss  so  important  for  us  to  know." 

The  flush  on  Bertram's  brow  slowly  subsided,  giving  way 
to  a  steady  pallor.  "  He  waited  to  be  sure,"  said  he.  "  He 
had  a  memorandum  at  home  which  he  desired  to  consult ; 
he  was  not  ready  to  make  any  rash  statement :  he  is  a  think- 
ing man  and  more  considerate  than  many  of  his  friends  are 
apt  to  imagine.  If  the  lock  had  not  been  found  open  he 
would  have  thought  with  you  that  he  had  made  some  mis- 
take ;  if  he  had  not  missed  from  the  box  some  of  its  con- 
tents, he  would  have  considered  the  condition  of  the  lock 
the  result  of  some  oversight  on  his  own  part  or  of  some  mis- 
take on  the  part  of  another,  but  the  two  facts  together  were 
damning  and  could  force  upon  him  but  one  conclusion. 
Uncle,"  said  he,  with  a  straightforward  look  into  Mr. 
Sylvester's  countenance,  "  Mr.  Stuyvesant  knows  as  well  as 
we  do  who  are  the  men  who  have  access  to  the  vaults.  As 
you  say,  the  opening  of  a  box  during  business  hours  and 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  389 

the  abstracting  from  it  of  papers  or  valuables  by  any  one 
who  has  not  such  access,  would  be  impossible.  Only  Hop- 
good,  you  and  myself,  and  possibly  Folger,  could  find 
either  time  or  opportunity  for  such  a  piece  of  work ;  while 
after  business  hours,  the  same  four,  minus  Folger  who  con- 
tents himself  with  knowing  the  combination  of  the  inner 
safe,  could  open  the  vaults  even  in  case  of  an  emergency. 
Now  of  the  four  named,  two  are  above  suspicion.  I  might 
almost  say  three,  for  Hopgood  is  not  a  man  it  is  easy  to 
mistrust.  One  alone,  then,  of  all  the  men  whom  Mr.  Stuy- 
vesant  is  in  the  habit  of  meeting  at  the  Bank,  is  open 
to  a  doubt.  A  young  man,  uncle,  whose  rising  has  been 
rapid,  whose  hopes  have  been  lofty,  whose  life  may  or  may 
not  be  known  to  himself  as  pure,  but  which  in  the  eyes  of  a 
matured  man  of  the  world  might  easily  be  questioned,  just 
because  its  hopes  are  so  lofty  and  its  means  for  attaining 
them  so  limited." 

"  Bertram !  "  sprang  from  Mr.  Sylvester's  white  lips. 

But  the  young  man  raised  his  hand  with  almost  a  com- 
manding gesture.  "Hush,"  said  he,  " no  sympathy  or  sur- 
prise. Facts  like  these  have  to  be  met  with  silent  endur- 
ance, as  we  walk  up  to  the  mouth  of  the  cannon  we  cannot 
evade,  or  bare  our  breast  to  the  thrust  of  the  bayonet  gleam- 
ing before  our  eyes. — I  would  not  have  you  think,"  he  some- 
what hurriedly  pursued,  "  that  Mr.  Stuyvesant  insinuated 
anything  of  the  kind,  but  his  daughter  was  not  present  in 
the  parlor,  and — "  A  sigh,  almost  a  gasp  finished  the  sen- 
tence. 


39°  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Bertram  !  "  again  exclaimed  his  uncle,  this  time  with 
some  authority  in  his  voice.  "  The  shock  of  this  discovery 
has  unnerved  you.  You  act  like  a  man  capable  of  being  sus- 
pected. That  is  simply  preposterous.  One  half  hour's  con- 
versation with  Mr.  Stuyvesant  on  my  part  will  convince  him, 
if  he  needs  convincing,  which  I  do  not  believe,  that  whoever 
is  unworthy  of  trust  in  our  bank,  you  are  not  the  man." 

Bertram  raised  his  head  with  a  gleam  of  hope,  but  in- 
stantly dropped  it  again  with  a  despairing  gesture  that  made 
.  his  uncle  frown. 

*'  I  did  not  know  that  you  were  inclined  to  be  so  pusillan- 
imous," cried  Mr.  Sylvester;  "  and  in  presence  of  a  foe 
so  unsubstantial  as  this  you  have  conjured  up  almost  out  of 
nothing.  If  the  bank  has  been  robbed,  it  cannot  be  difficult 
to  find  the  thief.  I  will  order  in  detectives  to-morrow.  We 
will  hold  a  board  of  inquiry,  and  the  culprit  shall  be  un- 
masked ;  that  is,  if  he  is  one  of  the  employees  of  the  bank, 
which  it  is  very  hard  to  believe." 

"  Very,  and  which,  if  true,  would  make  it  unadvisable  in 
us  to  give  the  alarm  that  any  public  measures  taken  could 
not  fail  to  do." 

"  The  inquiry  shall  be  private,  and  the  detectives,  men 
who  can  be  trusted  to  keep  their  business  secret." 

"  How  can  any  inquiry  be  private  ?  Uncle,  we  are  tread- 
ing on  delicate  ground,  and  have  a  task  before  us  requiring 
great  tact  and  discretion.  If  the  safe  had  only  been  as- 
saulted, or  there  were  any  evidences  of  burglary  to  be 
seen  !  But  we  surely  should  have  heard  of  it  from  some  one 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  391 

of  the  men,  if  anything  unusual  had  been  observed.  Hop- 
good  would  have  spoken  at  least." 

"  Yes,  Hopgood  would,  have  spoken." 

The  tone 'in  which  this  was  uttered  made  Bertram  look 
up.  "  You  agree  with  me,  then,  that  Hopgood  is  absolutely 
to  be  relied  upon  ?  " 

"  Absolutely."  A  faint  flush  on  Mr.  Sylvester's  face  lent 
force  to  this  statement. 

"  He  could  not  be  beguiled  or  forced  by  another  man  to 
reveal  the  combination,  or  to  relax  his  watch  over  the  vaults 
entrusted  to  his  keeping  ?  " 

"No." 

"  He  is  alone  with  the  vaults  where  the  boxes  are  kept 
for  an  hour  or  two  in  the  early  morning  !  " 

"  Yes,  and  has  been  for  three  years.  Hopgood  is  honesty 
itself." 

"  And  so  are  Folger  and  Jessup  and  Watson,"  exclaimed 
Bertram  emphatically. 

"  Yes,"  his  uncle  admitted,  with  equal  emphasis. 

"  It  is  a  mystery,"  Bertram  declared  ;  "  and  one  I  fear 
that  will  undo  me." 

"Nonsense!"  broke  forth  somewhat  impatiently  from 
Mr.  Sylvester's  lips ;  "  there  is  no  reason  at  this  time  for  any 
such  conclusion.  If  there  is  a  thief  in  the  bank  he  can  be 
found  ;  if  the  robbery  was  committed  by  an  outsider,  he  may 
still  be  discovered.  If  he  is  not,  if  the  mystery  rests  forever 
unexplained,  you  have  your  character,  Bertram,  a  character 
as  spotless  as  that  of  any  of  your  fellows,  whom  we  regard 


392  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

as  above  suspicion.  A  man  is  not  going  to  be  condemned  by 
such  a  judge  of  human  nature  as  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  just  because 
a  mysterious  crime  has  been  committed,  to  which  the  circum- 
stances of  his  position  alone  render  it  possible  for  him  to  be 
party.  You  might  as  well  say  that  Jessup  and  Folger  and 
Watson — yes,  or  myself,  would  in  that  case  lose  his  confidence. 
They  are  in  the  bank,  and  are  constantly  in  the  habit  of 
going  to  the  vaults." 

"  None  of  those  gentlemen  want  to  marry  his  daughter," 
murmured  Bertram.  "  It  is  not  the  director  I  fear,  but  the 
father.  I  have  so  little  to  bring  her.  Only  my  character  and 
my  devotion." 

"Well,  well,  pluck  up  courage,  my  boy.  I  have  hopes 
yet  that  the  whole  matter  can  be  referred  to  some  mistake 
easily  explainable  when  once  it  is  discovered.  Mistakes, 
even  amongst  the  honest  and  the  judicious,  are  not  so  uncom- 
mon as  one  is  apt  to  imagine.  I,  myself,  have  known  of  one 
which  if  providence  had  not  interfered,  might  have  led  to 
doubts  seemingly  as  inconsistent  as  yours.  To-morrow  we 
will  consider  the  question  at  length.  To-night — Well,  Ber- 
tram, what  is  it  ?  " 

The  young  man  started  and  dropped  his  eyes,  which  dur- 
ing the  last  words  of  his  uncle  had  been  fixed  upon  his  face 
with  strange  and  penetrating  inquiry.  "  Nothing,"  said  he, 
"  that  is,  nothing  more ;"  and  rose  as  if  to  leave. 

But  Mr.  Sylvester  put  out  his  hand  and  stopped  him. 
"There  is  something,"  said  he.  "I  have  seen  it  in  your 
face  ever  since  you  entered  this  room.  What  is  it  ?" 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  393 

The  young  man  drew  a  deep  breath  and  leaned  back  in 
his  chair.  Mr.  Sylvester  watched  him  with  growing  pallor. 
"  You  are  right,"  murmured  his  nephew  at  last ;  "  there  is 
something  more,  and  it  is  only  justice  that  you  should  hear 
it.  I  have  had  two  adventures  to-night ;  one  quite  apart 
from  my  conversation  with  Mr.  Stuyvesant.  Heaven  that 
watches  above  us,  has  seen  fit  to  accumulate  difficulties  in 
my  path,  and  this  last,  perhaps,  is  the  least  explainable  and 
the  hardest  to  encounter." 

"  What  do  you  allude  to  ?  "  cried  his  uncle,  imperatively ; 
"  I  have  had  an  evening  of  too  much  agitation  to  endure 
suspense  with  equanimity.  Explain  yourself." 

"It  will  not  take  long,"  said  the  other;  "a  few  words 
will  reveal  to  you  the  position  in  which  I  stand.  Let  me 
relate  it  in  the  form  of  a  narrative.  You  know  what  a  dark 
portion  of  the  block  that  is  in  which  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  house 
is  situated.  A  man  might  hide  in  any  of  the  areas  along 
there,  without  being  observed  by  you  unless  he  made  some 
sound  to  attract  your  attention.  I  was,  therefore,  more 
alarmed  than  surprised  when,  shortly  after  leaving  Mr.  Stuy- 
vesant's dwelling,  I  felt  a  hand  laid  on  my  shoulder,  and 
turning,  beheld  a  dark  figure  at  my  side,  of  an  appearance 
calculated  to  arouse  any  man's  apprehension.  He  was  tall, 
unkempt,  with  profuse  beard,  and  eyes  that  glared  even  in 
the  darkness  of  his  surroundings,  with  a  feverish  intensity. 
'  You  are  Mr.  Sylvester,'  said  he,  with  a  look  of  a  wild  animal 
ready  to  pounce  upon  his  prey.  '  Yes,'  said  I,  involuntarily 
stepping  back,  '  I  am  Mr.  Sylvester.'  '  I  want  to  speak  to 


394  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

you,'  exclaimed  he,  with  a  rush  of  words  as  though  a  stream 
had  broken  loose  ;  '  now,  at  once,  on  business  that  concerns 
you.  Will  you  listen  ? ' 

"  I  thought  of  the  only  business  that  seemed  to  concern 
me  then,  and  starting  still  farther  back,  surveyed  him  with 
surprise.  '  I  don't  know  you,'  said  I ;  '  what  business  can  you 
have  with  me  ?  '  '  Will  you  step  into  some  place  where  it  is 
warm  and  find  out  ? '  he  asked,  shivering  in  his  thin  cloakf 
but  not  abating  a  jot  of  his  eagerness.  '  Go  on  before  me,' 
said  I,  '  and  we  will  see.'  He  complied  at  once,  and  in  this 
way  we  reached  Beale's  Coffee- Room,  where  we  went  in. 
1  Now,'  said  I,  '  out  with  what  you  have  to  say  and  be  quick 
about  it.  I  have  no  time  to  listen  to  nonsense  and  no  heart 
to  attend  to  it.'  His  eye  brightened ;  he  did  not  cast  a  glance 
at  the  smoking  victuals  about  him,  though  I  knew  he  was 
hungry  as  a  dog.  '  It  is  no  nonsense,'  said  he,  '  that  I  have 
to  communicate  to  you.'  And  then  I  saw  he  had  once  been 
a  gentleman.  '  For  two  years  and  a  half  have  I  been  search- 
ing for  you,'  he  went  on,  '  in  order  that  I  might  recall  to 
your  mind  a  little  incident.  You  remember  the  afternoon 
of  February,  the  twenty-fifth,  two  years  ago  ?  ' 

"  '  No,'  said  I,  in  great  surprise,  for  his  whole  counte- 
nance was  flushed  with  expectancy.  '  What  was  there  about 
that  day  that  I  should  remember  it  ?  '  He  smiled  and  bent 
his  face  nearer  to  mine.  '  Don't  you  recollect  a  little  con- 
versation  you  had  in  a  small  eating-house  in  Dey  Street,  with 
.  a  gentleman  of  a  high-sounding  voice  to  whom  you  were 
obliged  continually  to  say  '  hush  ! '  '  I  stared  at  the  man, 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  395 

as  you  may  believe,  with  some  notion  of  his  being  a  wander- 
ing lunatic.  '  I  have  never  taken  a  meal  in  any  eating-house 
in  Dey  Street,'  I  declared,  motioning  to  a  waiter  to  approach 
us.  The  man  observing  it,  turned  swiftly  upon  me.  '  Do 
you  think  I  care  for-any  such  petty  fuss  as  that  ? '  asked  he, 
indicating  the  rather  slightly  built  man  I  had  called  to  my 
rescue,  while  he  covertly  studied  my  face  to  observe  the 
effect  of  his  words. 

"  I  started.  I  could  not  help  it  ;  this  use  of  an  expres- 
sion almost  peculiar  to  myself,  assured  me  that  the  man 
knew  me  better  than  I  supposed.  Involuntarily  I  waved 
the  waiter  back  and  turned  upon  the  man  with  an  inquiring 
look. 

"  '  I  thought  you  might  consider  it  worth  your  while  to 
listen,'  said  he,  smiling  with  the  air  of  one  who  has  or  thinks 
he  has  a  grip  upon  you.  Then  suddenly,  'You  are  a  rich 
man,  are  you  not  ?  a  proud  man  and  an  honored.  You 
hold  a  position  of  trust  and  are  considered  worthy  of  it ; 
how  would  you  like  men  to  know  that  you  once  committed  a 
mean  arfd  dirty  trick  ;  that  those  white  hands  that  have 
the  handling  of  such  large  funds  at  present,  have  in  days 
gone  by  been  known  to  dip  into  such  funds  a  little  too 
deeply ;  that,  in  short,  you,  Bertram  Sylvester,  cashier  of  the 
Madison  Bank,  and  looking  forward  to  no  one  knows  what 
future  honors  and  emoluments,  have  been  in  a  position 
better  suited  to  a  felon's  cell  than  the  trusted  agent  of  a 
great  and  wealthy  corporation  ?  ' 

"  I  did  not  collar  him  ;  I  was  too  dumb-stricken  for  any 


THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

such  display  of  indignation.  I  simply  stared,  feeling  some- 
what alarmed  as  I  remembered  my  late  interview  with  Mr. 
Stuyvesant,  and  considered  the  possibility  of  a  plot  being 
formed  against  me.  He  smiled  again  at  the  effect  he  had  pro- 
duced, and  drew  me  into  a  corner  of  the  room  where  we  sat 
down.  '  I  am  going  to  tell  you  a  story,'  said  he,  'just  to  show 
you  what  a  good  memory  I  have.  One  day,  a  year  and  more 
ago,  I  sauntered  into  an  eating-house  on  Dey  Street.  I  have 
not  always  been  what  you  see  me  now,  though  to  tell  you 
the  truth,  I  was  but  little  better  off  at  the  time  of  which  I 
speak,  except  that  I  did  have  a  dime  or  so  in  my  pocket,  and 
could  buy  a  meal  of  victuals — if  I  wished.'  And  his  eyes 
roamed  for  the  first  time  to  the  tables  stretching  out  before 
him  down  the  room.  '  The  proprietor  was  an  acquaintance 
of  mine,  and  finding  I  was  sleepy  as  well  as  hungry,  let  me 
go  into  a  certain  dark  pantry,  where  I  curled  up  amid  all 
sorts  of  old  rubbish  and  went  to  sleep.  I  was  awakened  by 
the  sound  of  voices  talking  very  earnestly.  The  closet  in 
which  I  was  hidden  was  a  temporary  affair  built  up  of  loose 
boards,  and  the  talk  of  a  couple  of  men  seated  against  it  was 
easy  enough  to  be  heard.  Do  you  want  to  know  what  that 
conversation  was  ? ' 

"  My  curiosity  was  roused  by  this  time  and  I  said  yes. 
If  this  was  a  plot  to  extort  money  from  me,  it  was  undeniably 
better  for  me  to  know  upon  just  what  foundations  it  rested. 
I  thought  the  man  looked  surprised,  but  with  an  aplomb 
difficult  to  believe  assumed,  he  went  on  to  say,  '  The  voices 
gave  me  my  only  means  of  judging  of  the  age,  character,  or 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  397 

position  of  the  men  conversing,  but  I  have  a  quick  ear,  and 
my  memory  is  never  at  fault.  From  the  slow,  broken, 
nervously  anxious  tone  of  one  of  the  men,  I  made  up  my 
mind  that  he  was  elderly,  hard  up,  and  not  over  scrupulous; 
the  other  voice  was  that  of  a  gentleman,  musical  and  yet  pro- 
nounced, and  not  easily  forgotten,  as  you  see,  sir.  The  first 
words  I  heard  aroused,  me  and  convinced  me  it  was  worth 
while  to  listen.  They  were  uttered  by  the  gentleman.  '  You 
come  to  me  with  such  a  dirty  piece  of  business  !  What  right 
have  you  to  suppose  I  would  hearken  to  you  for  an  instant ! ' 
'The  right,'  returned  the  other,  'of  knowing  you  have  not 
been  above  doing  dirty  work  in  your  life  time.'  The  partition 
creaked  at  that,  as  though  one  of  the  two  had  started  for- 
ward, but  I  didn't  hear  any  reply  made  to  this  strange  accu- 
sation. '  Do  you  think,'  the  same  voice  went  on, '  that  I  do  not 
know  where  the  five  thousand  dollars  came  from  which  you 
gave  me  for  that  first  speculation  ?  I  knew  it  when  I  took  it, 
and  if  I  hadn't  been  sure  the  operation  would  turn  out  for- 
tunately, you  would  never  have  been  the  man  you  are  to-day. 
It  came  out  of  funds  entrusted  to  you,  and  was  not  the  gift 
of  a  relative  as  you  would  have  made  me  believe.'  'Good 
heaven  ! '  exclaimed  the  other,  after  a  silence  that  was  very 
expressive  just  then  and  there,  'and  you  let  me — '  '  Oh  we 
won't  go  into  that,'  interrupted  the  less  cultivated  voice. 
'  All  you  wanted  was  a  start,  to  make  you  the  successful 
man  you  have  since  become.  I  never  worried  much  about 
morals,  and  I  don't  worry  about  them  now,  only  when  you 
say  you  won't  do  a  thing  likely  to  make  my  fortune,  just 


39^  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

because  it  is  not  entirely  free  from  reproach,  I  say,  remember 
what  I  know  about  you,  and  don't  talk  virtue  to  me.' 

" '  I  am  rightly  punished,'  came  from  the  other,  in  a  tone 
that  proved  him  to  be  a  man  more  ready  to  do  a  wrong 
thing  than  to  face  the  accusation  of  it.  '  If  I  ever  did  what 
you  suppose,  the  repentance  that  has  embittered  all  my 
success,  and  the  position  in  which  you  have  this  day  placed 
me,  is  surely  an  ample  atonement.'  '  Will  you  do  what  I 
request  ?  '  inquired  the  other,  giving  little  heed  to  this  ex- 
pression of  misery,  of  which  I  on  the  contrary  took  special 
heed.  '  No,'  was  the  energetic  reply ;  '  because  I  am  not 
spotless  it  is  no  sign  that  I  will  wade  into  filth.  I  will  give 
you  money  as  I  have  done  scores  of  times  before,  but  I  will 
lend  my  hand  to  no  scheme  which  is  likely  to  throw  dis- 
credit on  me  or  mine.  Were  you  not  connected  to  me  in 
the  way  in  which  you  are — '  '  You  would  pursue  the  scheme,' 
interrupted  the  other  ;  '  it  is  because  you  know  that  I  can- 
not talk,  that  you  dare  repudiate  it.  Well  I  will  go  to 
one — '  '  You  shall  not,'  came  in  short  quick  tones,  just  such 
tones  as  you  used  to  me,  sir,  when  we  first  entered  this  room. 
'  You  shall  leave  the  country  before  you  do  anything  more, 
or  say  anything  more,  to  compromise  me  or  yourself.  I  may 
have  done  wrong  in  my  day,  but  that  is  no  reason  why  I 
should  suffer  for  it  at  your  hands,  tempter  of  youth,  and 
deceiver  of  your  own  flesh  and  blood  !  You  shall  never 
bring  back  those  days  to  me  again  ;  they  are  buried,  and 
have  been  stamped  out  of  sight  by  many  an  honest  dealing 
since,  and  many  as  I  trust  before  God,  good  and  sterling 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  399 

action.  I  have  long  since  begun  a  new  life  ;  a  life  of  honor, 
and  pure,  if  successful,  dealing.  Not  only  my  own  happiness, 
but  that  of  one  who  should  be  considered  by  you,  depends 
upon  my  maintaining  that  life  to  the  end,  unshadowed  by  un- 
holy remembrances,  and  unharrassed  by  any  such  proffers  as 
you  have  presumed  to  make  to  me  here  to-day.  If  you  want 
a  few  thousand  dollars  to  leave  the  country,  say  so,  but  never 
again  presume  to  offend  my  ears,  or  those  of  any  one  else  we 
may  know,  with  any  such  words  as  you  have  made  use  of  to- 
day.' And  the  spiritless  creature  subsided,  sir,  and  said  no 
more  to  that  rich,  honored,  and  successful  man  who  was  so 
sensitive  to  even  the  imputation  of  guilt. 

"  '  But  I  am  not  spiritless  and  just  where  he  dropped  the 
affair,  I  took  it  up.  '  Here  is  a  chance  for  me  to  turn  an 
honest  penny,'  thought  I,  and  with  a  deliberation  little  to  be 
expected  of  me,  perhaps,  set  myself  to  spot  that  man  and 
make  the  most  out  of  the  matter  I  could.  Unfortunately  I 
lost  the  opportunity  of  seeing  his  face.  I  was  too  anxious  to 
catch  every  word  they  uttered,  .to  quit  my  place  of  conceal- 
ment till  their  conversation  was  concluded,  and  then  I  was 
too  late  to  be  sure  which  of  the  many  men  leaving  the 
building  before  me  was  the  one  I  was  after.  The  waiters 
were  too  busy  to  talk,  and  the  proprietor  himself  had  taken 
no  notice.  Happily  as  I  have  before  said,  I  never  forget 
voices  ;  moreover  one  of  the  two  speakers  had  made  use  of 
a  phrase  peculiar  enough  to  serve  as  a  clue  to  his  identity. 
It  was  in  answer  to  some  parting  threat  of  the  older  man,  and 
will  remind  you  of  an  expression  uttered  by  yourself  an  hour 


400  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

or  so  ago.  '  Do  you  suppose  I  will  let  such  a  little  fuss  as 
that  deter  me  ?  '  It  was  the  cue  to  his  speech,  by  which  I 
intended  to  hunt  out  my  man  from  amongst  the  rich,  the 
trusted  and  the  influential  persons  of  this  city,  and  when 
found,  to  hold  him." 

" '  And  you  think  you  have  done  this  ? '  said  I,  too  con 
scious  of  the  possible  net  about  my  feet  to  be  simply  angry. 
'  I  know  it,'  said  he ;  '  every  word  you  have  uttered  since  we 
have  been  here  has  made  me  more  and  more  certain  of  the 
fact.  I  could  swear  to  your  voice,  and  as  to  your  use  of  that 
tell-tale  word,  it  was  not  till  I  thought  to  inquire  of  a  certain 
wide-awake  fellow  down  town,  who  amongst  our  business 
men  were  in  the  habit  of  using  that  expression,  and  was  told 
Mr.  Sylvester  of  the  Madison  Bank,  that  I  was  enabled  to 
track  you.  I  know  I  have  got  my  hand  on  my  man  at  last 
and — '  He  looked  down  at  his  thread-bare  coat  and  around 
at  the  tables  with  their  smoking  dishes,  and  left  me  to  draw 
my  own  conclusion. 

"  Uncle,  there  are  crises  in  life  which  no  former  experi- 
ence teaches  you  how  to  meet.  I  had  arrived  at  such  a  one. 
Perhaps  you  can  understand  me  when  I  say  I  was  well  nigh 
appalled.  Denial  of  what  was  imputed  to  me  might  be 
wisdom  and  might  not.  I  felt  the  coil  of  a  deadly  serpent 
.  about  me,  and  knew  not  whether  it  was  best  to  struggle  or 
to  simply  submit.  The  man  noted  the  effect  he  had  made 
and  complacently  folded  his  arms.  He  was  of  a  nervous 
organization  and  possessed  an  eye  like  a  hungry  wolf,  but  he 
could  wait.  'This  is  a  pretty  story,'  said  I  at  last,  and  I 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  401 

reject  it  altogether.  '  I  am  an  honest  man  and  have  always 
been  so  ;  you  will  have  to  give  up  your  hopes  of  making 
anything  out  of  me.'  '  Then  you  are  willing,'  said  he,  '  that  I 
should  repeat  this  story  to  one  of  the  directors  of  your  bank, 
whom  I  know  ?  ' 

"  I  looked  at  him  ;  he  returned  my  gaze  with  a  cold 
nonchalence  more  suggestive  of  a  deep  laid  purpose,  than 
even  his  previous  glance  of  feverish  determination.  I  imme- 
diately let  my  eye  run  over  his  scanty  clothing  and  loose 
flowing  hair  and  beard.  'Yes,  said  I,'  with  as  much  sarcasm 
as  I  knew  how  to  assume,  '  if  you  dare  risk  the  consequences, 
I  think  I  may.'  He  at  once  drew  himself  up.  'You  think,' 
said  he,  '  that  you  have  a  commonplace  adventurer  to  deal 
with  ;  that  my  appearance  is  going  to  testify  in  your  favor  ; 
that  you  have  but  to  deny  any  accusation  which  such  a 
hungry-looking,  tattered  wretch  as  I,  may  make,  and  that  I 
shall  be  ignominiously  kicked  out  of  the  presence  into  which 
I  have  forced  myself  ;  that  in  short  I  have  been  building 
my  castle  in  the  air.  Mr.  Sylvester  I  am  a  poor  devil  but 
I  am  no  fool.  When  I  left  Dey  Street  on  the  twenty-fifth  of 
February  two  years  ago,  it  was  with  a  sealed  paper  in  my 
pocket,  in  which  was  inscribed  all  that  I  had  heard  on  that 
day.  This  I  took  to  a  lawyer's  office,  and  not  being,  as  I 
have  before  said,  quite  as  impecunious  in  those  days  as  at 
present,  succeeded  in  getting  the  lawyer,  whom  I  took  care 
should  be  a  most  respectable  man,  to  draw  up  a  paper  to  the 
effect  that  I  had  entrusted  him  with  this  statement — of 
whose  contents  he  however  kirew  nothing — on  such  a  day  and 


402  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

hour,  to  which  paper  a  gentleman  then  present,  consented  at 
my  respectful  solicitation  to  affix  his  name  as  witness,  which 
gentleman,  strange  to  say,  has  since  proved  to  be  a  director 
of  the  bank  of  which  you  are  the  present  cashier,  and  conse- 
quently the  very  man  of  all  others  best  adapted  to  open  the 
paper  whose  seal  you  profess  to  be  so  willing  to  see  broken.' 
"  '  His  name  ! '  It  was  all  that  I  could  say.  '  Stuyves- 
ant,'  cried  the  man,  fixing  me  with  his  eye  in  which  I  in  vain 
sought  for  some  signs  of  secret  doubt  or  unconscious  wav- 
ering. I  rose  ;  the  position  in  which  I  found  myself  was 
too  overwhelming  for  instant  decision.  I  needed  time  for 
reflection,  possibly  advice — from  you.  A  resolution  to 
brave  the  devil  must  be  founded  on  something  more  solid 
than  impulse,  to  hold  its  own  unmoved.  I  only  stopped  to 
utter  one  final  word  and  ask  one  leading  question.  '  You 
are  a  smart  man,'  said  I,  '  and  you  are  also  a  villain.  Your 
smartness  would  give  you  food  and  drink,  if  you  exercised  it 
in  a  manner  worthy  of  a  man,  but  your  villainy  if  persisted 
in,  will  eventually  rob  you  of  both,  and  bring  you  to  the 
prison's  cell  or  the  hangman's  gallows.  As  for  myself,  I  per- 
sist in  saying  that  I  am  now  and  always  have  been  an  honest 
man,  whatever  you  may  have  overheard  or  find  yourself  capa- 
ble of  swearing  to.  Yet  a  lie  is  an  inconvenient  thing  to 
have  uttered  against  you  at  any  time,  and  I  may  want  to  see 
you  again  ;  if  I  do,  where  shall  I  find  you  ? '  He  thrust  his 
hand  into  his  pocket  and  drew  out  a  small  slip  of  folded 
paper,  which  he  passed  to  me  with  a  bow  that  Chesterfield 
would  have  admired.  '  You  will  find  it  written  within,'  said 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  403 

he  '  I  shall  look  for  you  any  time  to-morrow,  up  to  seven 
o'clock.  At  that  hour  the  lawyer  of  whom  I  have  spoken, 
sends  the  statement  which  he  has  in  his  possession  to  Mr. 
Stuyvesant.'  I  nodded  my  assent,  and  he  moved  slowly 
towards  the  door.  As  he  did  so,  his  eyes  fell  upon  a  roll  of 
bread  lying  on  a  counter.  I  at  once  stepped  forward  and 
bought  it.  Vile  as  he  was,  and  deadly  as  was  the  snare  he 
contemplated  drawing  about  me,  I  could  not  see  that  wolfish' 
look  of  hunger,  and  not  offer  him  something  to  ease  it.  He 
took  the  loaf  from  my  hands  and  bit  greedily  into  it  but 
suddenly  paused,  and  shook  his  head  with  a  look  like  self- 
reproach,  and  thrusting  the  loaf  under  his  arm,  turned  'to- 
wards the  door  with  the  quick  action  of  one  escaping.  In- 
stantly, and  before  he  was  out  of  sight  or  hearing,  I  drew  the 
attention  of  the  proprietor  to  him.  '  Do  you  see  that  man  ?  ' 
I  asked.  '  He  has  been  attempting  a  system  of  blackmail 
upon  me.'  And  satisfied  with  thus  having  provided  a  wit- 
ness able  of  identifying  the  man,  in  case  of  an  emergency,  I 
left  the  building. 

"  And  now  you  know  it  all,"  concluded  he ;  and  the 
silence  that  followed  the  utterance  of  those  simple  words, 
was  a  silence  that  could  be  felt. 

"  Bertram  ? " 

The  young  man  started  from  his  fixed  position,  and  his 
eyes  slowly  traversed  toward  his  uncle. 

"  Have  you  that  slip  of  paper  which  the  man  gave  you 
before  departing  ? " 


404  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

"Yes,"  said  he. 

"  Let  me  have  it,  if  you  please." 

The  young  man  with  an  agitated  look,  plunged  his  hand 
into  his  pocket,  drew  out  the  small  note  and  laid  it  on  the 
table  between  them.  Mr.  Sylvester  let  it  lie,  and  again  there 
was  a  silence. 

"If  this  had  happened  at  any  other  time,"  Bertram  pur- 
sued, "  one  could  afford  to  let  the  man  have  his  say ;  but 
now,  just  as  this  other  mystery  has  come  up — " 

"  I  don't  believe  in  submitting  to  blackmail,"  came  from 
his  uncle  in  short,  quick  tones. 

Bertram  gave  a  start.  "  You  then  advise  me  to  leave 
him  alone?  "  asked  he,  with  unmistakable  emotion. 

His  uncle  dropped  the  hand  which  till  now  he  had  held 
before  his  face,  and  hastily  confronted  his  nephew.  "You 
will  have  enough  to  do  to  attend  to  the  other  matter  without 
bestowing  any  time  or  attention  upon  this.  The  man  that 
robbed  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  box,  can  be  found  and  must.  It  is 
the  one  indispensable  business  to  which  I  now  delegate  you. 
No  amount  of  money  and  no  amount  of  diligence  is  to  be 
spared.  I  rely  on  you  to  carry  the  affair  to  a  successful  ter- 
mination. Will  you  undertake  the  task  ?  " 

"  Can  you  ask  ? "  murmured  the  young  man,  with  a 
shocked  look  at  his  uncle's  changed  expression. 

"  As  to  this  other  matter,  we  will  let  it  rest  for  to-night. 
To-morrow's  revelations  may  be  more  favorable  than  we 
expect.  At  all  events  let  us  try  and  get  a  little  rest  now  ;  I 
am  sure  we  are  both  in  a  condition  to  need  it." 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  405 

Bertram  rose.  "I  am  at  your  command,"  said  he,  and 
moved  to  go.  Suddenly  he  turned,  and  the  two  men  stood 
face  to  face.  "  I  have  no  wish,"  pursued  he,  "  to  be  relieved 
of  my  burden  at  the  expense  of  any  one  else.  If  it  is  to  be 
borne  by  any  one,  let  it  be  carried  by  him  who  is  young  and 
stalwart  enough  to  sustain  it."  And  his  hand  went  out  in- 
voluntarily towards  his  uncle. 

Mr.  Sylvester  took  that  hand  and  eyed  his  nephew  long 
and  earnestly.  Bertram  thought  he  was  going  to  speak,  and 
nerved  himself  to  meet  with  fortitude  whatever  might  be 
said.  But  the  lips  which  Mr.  Sylvester  had  opened,  closed 
firmly,  and  contenting  himself  with  a  mere  wring  of  his 
nephew's  hand,  he  allowed  him  to  go.  The  slip  of  paper 
remained  upon  the  table  unopened. 

That  night  as  Paula  lay  slumbering  on  her  pillow,  a  sound 
passed  through  the  house.  It  was  like  a  quick  irrepressible 
cry  of  desolation,  and  the  poor  child  hearing  it,  started, 
thinking  her  name  had  been  called.  But  when  she  listened, 
all  was  still,  and  believing  she  had  dreamed,  she  turned  her 
face  upon  her  pillow,  and  softly  murmuring  the  name  that 
was  dearest  to  her  in  all  the  world,  fell  again  into  a  peaceful 
sleep. 

But  he  whose  voice  had  uttered  that  cry  in  the  dreary 
emptiness  of  the  great  parlors  below,  slept  not. 


XXXVI. 

MORNING. 

"  Two  maidens  by  one  fountain's  joyous  brink, 
And  one  was  sad  and  one  had  cause  for  sadness." 

CICELY  STUYVESANT  waiting  for  her  father  at  the  foot 
of  the  stairs,  on  the  morning  after  these  occurrences,  was  a 
pretty  and  a  touching  spectacle.  She  had  not  slept  very 
well  the  night  before,  and  her  brow  showed  signs  of  trouble 
and  so  did  her  trembling  lips.  She  held  in  her  hand  a  letter 
which  she  twirled  about  with  very  unsteady  fingers.  The 
morning  was  bright,  but  she  did  not  seem  to  observe  it ; 
the  air  was  fresh,  but  it  did  not  seem  to  invigorate  her.  A 
rose-leaf  of  care  lay  on  the  tremulous  waters  of  her  soul,  and 
her  sensitive  nature  thrilled  under  it. 

"  Why  does  he  not  come  ? "  she  whispered,  looking  again 
at  the  letter's  inscription. 

It  was  in  Mr.  Sylvester's  handwriting,  and  ought  not  to 
have  occasioned  her  any  uneasiness,  but  her  father  had  in- 
timated a  wish  the  night  before,  that  she  should  not  come 
down  into  the  parlor  if  Bertram  called,  and —  Her  thoughts 
paused  there,  but  she  was  anxious  about  the  letter  and  wished 
her  father  would  hasten. 

Let  us  look  at  the  little  lady.     She  had  been  so  bright 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  407 

and  lovesome  yesterday  at  this  time.  Never  a  maiden  in  all 
this  great  city  of  ours  had  shown  a  sweeter  or  more  etherial 
smile.  At  once  radiant  and  reserved,  she  flashed  on  the  eye 
and  trembled  from  the  grasp  like  some  dainty  tropical  crea- 
ture as  yet  unused  to  our  stranger  clime.  Her  father  had 
surveyed  her  with  satisfaction,  and  her  lover — oh,  that  we 
were  all  young  again  to  experience  that  leap  of  the  heart 
with  which  youth  meets  and  recognizes  the  sweet  perfections 
of  the  woman  it  adores  !  But  a  mist  had  obscured  the 
radiance  of  her  aspect,  and  she  looks  very  sad  as  she  stands 
in  her  father's  hall  this  morning,  leaning  her  cheek  against 
the  banister,  and  thinking  of  the  night  when  three  years  ago, 
she  lingered  in  that  very  spot,  and  watched  the  form  of  the 
young  musician  go  by  her  and  disappear  in  the  darkness  of 
the  night,  as  she  then  thought  forever.  Joy  had  come 
to  her  by  such  slow  steps  and  after  such  long  waiting. 
Hope  had  burst  upon  her  so  brilliantly,  and  with  such  a 
speedy  promise  of  culmination.  She  thrilled  as  she  thought 
how  short  a  time  ago  it  was,  since  she  leaned  upon  Bertram's 
arm  and  dropped  her  eyes  before  his  gaze. 

The  appearance  of  her  father  at  length  aroused  her. 
Flushing  slightly,  she  held  the  letter  towards  him. 

"  A  letter  for  you,  papa.  I  thought  you  might  like  to 
read  it  before  you  went  out." 

Mr.  Stuyvesant,  who  for  an  hour  or  more  had  been 
frowning  over  his  morning  paper  with  a  steady  pertinacity 
that  left  more  than  the  usual  amount  of  wrinkles  upon  his 
brow,  started  at  the  wistful  tone  of  this  announcement  from 


408  THE  'SWORD  OF  DAMOCLES. 

his  daughter's  lips,  and  taking  the  letter  from  her  hand, 
stepped  into  the  parlor  to  peruse  it.  It  was,  as  the  hand- 
writing declared,  from  Mr.  Sylvester,  and  ran  thus : 

"  DEAR  MR.  STUYVESANT  : 

"  I  have  heard  of  your  loss  and  am  astounded.  Though 
the  Bank  is  not  liable  for  any  accident  to  trusts  of  this  na- 
ture, both  Bertram  and  myself  are  determined  to  make  every 
effort  possible,  to  detect  and  punish  the  man  who  either 
through  our  negligence,  or  by  means  of  the  opportunities 
afforded  him  under  our  present  system  of  management,  has 
been  able  to  commit  this  robbery  upon  your  effects.  We 
therefore  request  that  you  will  meet  us  at  the  bank  this 
morning  at  as  early  an  hour  as  practicable,  there  to  assist  us 
in  making  such  inquiries  and  instituting  such  measures,  as 
may  be  considered  necessary  to  the  immediate  attainment  of 
the  object  desired. 

"  Respectfully  yours, 

"  EDWARD  SYLVESTER." 

"Is  it  anything  serious  ?"  asked  his   daughter,   coming 

into  the  parlor  and  looking  up  into  his  face  with  a  strange 

• 
wistfulness  he  could  not  fail  to  remark. 

Mr.  Stuyvesant  gave  her  a  quick  glance,  shook  his  head 
with  some  nervousness  and  hastily  pocketed  the  epistle. 
"Business,"  mumbled  he,  "business."  And  ignoring  the 
sigh  that  escaped  her  lips,  began  to  make  his  preparations 
for  going  at  once  down  town. 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  409 

He  was  always  an  awkward  man  at  such  matters,  and  it 
was  her  habit  to  afford  him  what  assistance  she  could.  This 
she  now  did,  lending  her  hand  to  help  him  on  with  his  over- 
coat, rising  on  tip-toe  to  tie  his  muffler,  and  bending  her 
bright  head  to  see  that  his  galoshes  were  properly  fastened ; 
her  charming  face  with  its  far-away  look,  shining  strangely 
sweet  in  the  dim  hall,  in  contrast  with  his  severe  and  an- 
tiquated countenance. 

He  watched  her  carefully  but  with  seeming  indifference 
till  all  was  done  and  he  stood  ready  to  depart,  then  in  an 
awkward  enough  way — he  was  not  accustomed  to  bestow 
endearments — drew  her  to  him  and  kissed  her  on  the  fore- 
head ;  after  which  he  turned  about  and  departed  without  a 
word  to  season  or  explain  this  unwonted  manifestation  of 
tenderness. 

A  kiss  was  an  unusual  occurrence  in  that  confiding  but 
undemonstrative  household,  and  the  little  maiden  trembled. 
"  Something  is  wrong,"  she  murmured  half  to  herself  half  to 
the  dim  vista  of  the  lonely  parlor,  where  but  a  night  or  so  ago 
had  stood  the  beloved  form  of  him,  who,  bury  the  thought  as 
she  would,  had  become,  if  indeed  he  had  not  always  been, 
the  beginning  and  the  ending  of  all  her  maidenly  dreams  : 
''  what  ?  what  ?  "  And  her  young  heart  swelled  painfully  as 
she  realized  like  many  a  woman  before  her,  that  whatever 
might  be  her  doubts,  fears,  anguish  or  suspense,  nothing  re- 
mained for  her  but  silence  and  a  tedious  waiting  for  others 
to  recognize  her  misery  and  speak. 

Meanwhile  how  was  it  with  her  dearest  friend  and  conn- 


410  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

dent,  Paula  ?  The  morning,  as  I  have  already  declared,  was 
bright  and  exceptionally  beautiful.  Sunshine  filled  the  air 
and  freshness  invigorated  the  breeze.  Cicely  was  blind  to  it 
all,  but  as  Paula  looked  from  her  window  preparatory  to 
going  below,  a  close  observer  might  have  perceived  that  the 
serenity  of  the  cloudless  sky  was  reflected  in  her  beaming 
eyes,  that  peace  brooded  above  her  soul  and  ruled  her  ten- 
der spirit.  She  had  held  a  long  conversation  with  Miss  Be- 
J.inda,  she  had  prayed,  she  had  slept  and  she  had  risen  with 
u  confirmed  love  in  her  heart  for  the  man  who  was  at 
once  the  admiration  of  her  eyes  and  the  well-spring  of  her 
deepest  thoughts  and  wildest  longings.  "  I  will  show  him  so 
plainly  what  the  angels  have  told  me,"  whispered  she,  "  that 
he  will  have  no  need  to  ask."  And  she  wound  her  long  locks 
into  the  coil  that  she  knew  he  best  liked  and  fixed  a  rose  at 
her  throat,  and  so  with  a  smile  on  her  lip  went  softly  down 
stairs.  O  the  timid  eager  step  of  maidenhood  when  drawing 
toward  the  shrine  of  all  it  adores !  Could  those  halls  and 
and  lofty  corridors  have  whispered  their  secret,  what  a  story 
they  would  have  told  of  beating  heart  and  tremulous  glance, 
eager  longings,  and  maidenly  shrinkings,  as  the  lovely  form, 
swaying  with  a  thousand  hopes  and  fears,  glided  from  land- 
ing to  landing,  carrying  with  it  love  and  joy  and  peace. 
And  trust  !  As  she  neared  the  bronze  image  that  had  always 
awakened  such  vague  feelings  of  repugnance  on  her  part,  and 
found  its  terrors  gone  and  its  smile  assuring,  she  realized 
that  her  breast  held  nothing  but  faith  in  him,  who  may  have 
sinned  in  his  youth,  but  who  had  repented  in  his  manhood, 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  411 

and  now  stood  clear  and  noble  in  her  eyes.  The  assurance 
was  too  sweet,  the  flood  of  feeling  too  overwhelming.  With  a 
quick  glance  around  her,  she  stopped  and  flung  her  arms 
about  the  hitherto  repellant  bronze,  pressing  her  young 
breast  against  the  cold  metal  with  a  fervor  that  ought  to  have 
hallowed  its  sensuous  mould  forever.  Then  she  hurried 
down. 

Her  first  glance  into  the  dining-room  brought  her  a 
disappointment.  Mr.  Sylvester  had  already  breakfasted  and 
gone ;  only  Aunt  Belinda  sat  at  the  table.  With  a  slightly 
troubled  brow,  Paula  advanced  to  her  own  place  at  the 
board. 

"  Mr.  Sylvester  has  urgent  business  on  hand  to-day," 
quoth  her  aunt.  "  I  met  him  going  out  just  as  I  came 
down." 

Her  look  lingered  on  Paula. as  she  said  this,  and  if  it  had 
not  been  for  the  servants,  she  would  doubtless  have  given 
utterance  to  some  further  expression  on  the  matter,  for  she 
had  been  greatly  struck  by  Mr.  Sylvester's  appearance  and 
the  sad,  firm,  almost  lofty  expression  of  his  eye,  as  it  met 
hers  in  their  hurried  conversation. 

"  He  is  a  very  busy  man,"  returned  Paula  simply,  and 
was  silent,  struck  by  some  secret  dread  she  could  not  have 
explained.  Suddenly  she  rose  ;  she  had  found  an  envelope 
beneath  her  plate,  addressed  to  herself.  It  was  bulky  and 
evidently  contained  a  key.  Hastening  behind  the  curtains 
of  the  window,  she  opened  it.  The  key  was  to  that  secret 
study  of  his  at  the  top  of  the  house,  which  no  one  but  him- 


412  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

self  had  ever  been  seen  to  enter,  and  the  words  that  enwrap- 
ped it  were  these  : 

"  If  I  send  you  no  word  to  the  contrary,  and  if  I  do  not 
come  back  by  seven  o'clock  this  evening,  go  to  the  room  of 
which  this  is  the  key,  open  my  desk,  and  read  what  I  have 
prepared  for  your  eyes.  "E.  S." 


XXXVII. 

THE    OPINION    OF    A    CERTAIN    NOTED    DETECTIVE. 

"  But  still  there  clung 
One  hope,  like  a  keen  sword  on  starting  threads  uphung," 

—REVOLT  OF  ISLAM. 

"  Facts  are  stubborn  things.1' — ELLIOTT. 

MEANWHILE  Mr.  Stuyvesant  hasted  on  his  way  dowu 
town  and  ere  long  made  his  appearance  at  the  bank.  He 
found  Mr.  Sylvester  and  Bertram  seated  in  the  directors' 
room,  with  a  portly  smooth-faced  man  whose  appearance  was 
at  once  strange  and  vaguely  familiar. 

"A  detective,  sir,"  explained  Mr  Sylvester  rising  with 
forced  composure;  "a  man  upon  whose  judgment  I  have 
been  told  we  may  rely.  Mr.  Gryce,  Mr.  Stuyvesant." 

The  latter  gentleman  nodded,  cast  a  glance  around  the 
room,  during  which  his  eye  rested  for  a  moment  on  Bertram's 
somewhat  pale  countenance,  and  nervously  took  a  seat. 

"A  mysterious  piece  of  business,  this,"  came  from  the 
detective's  lips  in  an  easy  tone,  calculated  to  relieve  the 
tension  of  embarrassment  into  which  the  entrance  of  Mr. 
Stuyvesant  seemed  to  have  thrown  all  parties.  "What  were 
the  numbers  of  the  bonds  found  missing,  if  you  please  '  " 

Mr.  Stuyvesant  told  him. 


4H  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  You  are  positively  assured  these  bonds  were  all  in  the 
box  when  you  last  locked  it  ?  " 

"  I  am." 

"  When  was  that,  sir  ?  On  what  day  and  at  what  hour 
of  the  day,  if  you  please  ? " 

"  Tuesday,  at  about  three  o'clock,  I  should  say." 

"  The  box  was  locked  by  you  ?  There  is  no  doubt  about 
that  fact  ? " 

"  None  in  the  least." 

"  Where  were  you  standing  at  the  time  ?  " 

"In  front  of  the  vault  door.  I  had  taken  out  the  box 
myself  as  I  am  in  the  habit  of  doing,  and  had  stepped  there 
to  put  it  back." 

"  Was  any  one  near  you  then  ?  " 

"  Yes.  The  cashier  was  at  his  desk  and  the  teller  had 
occasion  to  go  to  the  safe  while  I  stood  there.  I  do  not 
remember  seeing  any  one  else  in  my  immediate  vicinity." 

"Do  you  remember  ever  going  to  the  vaults  and  not 
finding  some  one  near  you  at  the  time  or  at  least  in  full  view 
of  your  movements?  " 

"No." 

"  I  have  informed  Mr.  Gryce,"  interposed  Mr.  Sylvester, 
with  a  ring  in  his  deep  voice  that  made  Mr.  Stuyvesant  start, 
"  that  our  chief  desire  at  present  is  to  have  his  judgment 
upon  the  all  important  question,  as  to  whether  this  theft  was 
committed  by  a  stranger,  or  one  in  the  employ  and  conse- 
quently in  the  confidence  of  the  bank." 

Mr.  Stuyvesant  bowed,  every  wrinkle  in  his  face  mani- 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  415 

festing  itself  with  startling  distinctness  as  he  slowly  moved 
his  eyes  and  fixed  them  on  the  inscrutable  countenance  of 
the  detective. 

"  You  agree  then  with  these  gentlemen,"  continued  the 
latter,  who  had  a  way  of  seeming  more  interested  in  every- 
thing and  everybody  present  than  the  person  he  was  address- 
ing, "that  it  would  be  difficult  if  not  impossible  for  any  one 
unconnected  with  the  bank,  to  approach  the  vaults  during 
business  hours  and  abstract  anything  from  them  without  de- 
tection ? " 

"  And  do  these  gentleman  both  assert  that  ? "  queried 
Mr.  Stuyvesant,  with  a  sharp  look  from  uncle  to  nephew. 

"  I  believe  they  do,"  replied  the  detective,  as  both  the 
gentlemen  bowed,  Bertram  with  an  uncontrollable  quiver  of 
his  lip,  and  Mr.  Sylvester  with  a  deepening  of  the  lines  about 
his  mouth,  which  may  or  may  not  have  been  noticed  by  this 
man  who  appeared  to  observe  nothing. 

"  I  should  be  loth  to  conclude  that  the  robbery  was  com- 
mitted by  any  one  but  a  stranger,"  remarked  Mr.  Stuyves- 
ant ;  "  but  if  these  gentlemen  concur  in  the  statement  you 
have  just  made,  I  am  bound  to  acknowledge  that  I  do  not 
myself  see  how  the  theft  could  have  been  perpetrated  by  an 
outsider.  Had  the  box  itself  been  missing,  it  would  be 
different.  I  remember  my  old  friend  Mr.  A — ,  the  president 
of  the  police  department,  telling  me  of  a  case  where  a  box 
containing  securities  to  the  amount  of  two  hundred  thousand 
dollars,  was  abstracted  in  full  daylight  from  the  vaults  of  one 
of  our  largest  banks ;  an  act  requiring  such  daring,  the 


416  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

directors  for  a  long  time  refused  to  believe  it  possible,  until 
a  detective  one  day  showed  them  another  box  of  theirs 
which  he  had  succeeded  in  abstracting  in  the  same  way.* 
But  the  vaults  in  that  instance  were  in  a  less  conspicuous 
portion  of  the  bank  than  ours,  besides  to  approach  an  open 
vault,  snatch  a  box  from  it  and  escape,  is  a  much  simpler 
matter  than  to  remain  long  enough  to  open  a  box  and 
choose  from  its  contents  such  papers  as  appeared  most 
marketable.  If  a  regular  thief  could  do  such  a  thing,  it  does 
not  seem  probable  that  he  would.  Nevertheless  the  most 
acute  judgment  is  often  at  fault  in  these  matters,  and  I  do 
not  pretend  to  have  formed  an  opinion." 

The  detective  who  had  listened  to  these  words  with 
marked  attention,  bowed  his  concurrence  and  asked  if  the 
bonds  mentioned  by.  Mr.  Stuy  vesant  were  all  that  had  been 
found  missing  from  the  bank.  If  any  of  the  other  boxes 
had  been  opened,  or  if  the  contents  of  the  safe  itself  had 
ever  been  tampered  yfth. 

"  The  contents  of  the  safe  are  all  correct,"  came  in  deep 
tones  from  Mr.  Sylvester.  "  Mr.  Folger,  my  nephew  and 
myself  went  through  them  this  morning.  As  for  the  boxes  I 
cannot  say,  many  of  them  belong  to  persons  travelling  ; 
some  of  them  have  been  left  here  by  trustees  of  estates,  con- 
sequently often  lie  for  weeks  in  the  vaults  untouched.  If 
however  any  of  them  have  been  opened,  we  ought  to  be  able 
to  see  it.  Would  you  like  an  examination  made  of  their 
condition  ?  " 

*  A  fact. 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  417 

The  detective  nodded. 

Mr.  Sylvester  at  once  turned  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant.  "  May 
I  ask  you  to  mention  what  officer  of  the  bank  you  would 
like  to  have  go  to  the  vaults  ? " 

That  gentleman  started,  looked  uneasily  about,  but  meet- 
ing Bertram's  eye,  nervously  dropped  his  own  and  muttered 
the  name  of  Folger. 

Mr.  Sylvester  suppressed  a  sigh,  sent  for  the  paying-teller, 
and  informed  him  of  their  wishes.  He  at  once  proceeded  to 
the  vaults.  While  he  was  gone,  Mr.  Gryce  took  the  opportu- 
nity to  make  the  following  remark. 

"  Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  let  us  understand  ourselves. 
What  you  want  of  me,  is  to  tell  you  whether  this  robbery  has 
been  committed  by  a  stranger  or  by  some  one  in  your 
employ.  Now  to  decide  this  question  it  is  necessary  for  me 
to  ask  first,  whether  you  have  ever  had  reason  to  doubt  the 
honesty  of  any  person  connected  with  the  bank  ?  " 

"  No,"  came  from  Mr.  Sylvester  with  sharp  and  shrill 
distinctness.  "  Since  I  have  had  the  honor  of  conducting  the 
affairs  of  this  institution,  I  have  made  it  my  business  to 
observe  and  note  the  bearing  and  character  of  each  and 
every  man  employed  under  me,  and  I  believe  them  all  to  be 
honest." 

The  glance  of  the  detective  while  it  did  not  perceptibly 
move  from  the  large  screen  drawn  across  the  room  at  the 
back  of  Mr.  Sylvester,  seemed  to  request  the  opinions  of  the 
other  two  gentlemen  on  this  point. 

Bertram  observing  it,  subdued  the  rapid  beatings  of  his 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

heart  and  spoke  with  like  distinctness.  "  I  have  been  in  the 
bank  the  same  length  of  time  as  my  uncle,"  said  he,  "  and 
most  heartily  endorse  his  good  opinion  of  the  various  persons 
in  our  employ." 

"  And  Mr.  Stuyvesant  ? "  the  immovable  glance  seemed 
to  say. 

"  Men  are  honest  in  my  opinion  till  they  are  proved 
otherwise,"  came  in  short  stern  accents  from  the  director's 
lips. 

The  detective  drew  back  in  his  chair  as  if  he  considered 
that  point  decided,  and  yet  Bertram's  eye  which  had  clouded 
at  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  too  abrupt  assertion,  did  not  clear  again 
as  might  have  been  expected. 

"  There  is  one  more  question  I  desire  to  settle,"  con- 
tinued the  detective,  "  and  that  is,  whether  this  robbery 
could  have  been  perpetrated  after  business  hours,  by  some 
one  in  collusion  with  the  person  who  is  here  left  in  charge  ? " 

"  No  ;  "  again  came  from  Mr.  Sylvester,  with  impartial 
justice.  "  The  watchman — who  by  the  way  has  been  in  the 
bank  for  twelve  years — could  not  help  a  man  to  find  entrance 
to  the  vaults.  His  simple  duty  is  to  watch  over  the  bank 
and  give  alarm  in  case  of  fire  or  burglary.  It  would  necessi 
tate  a  knowledge  of  the  combination  by  which  the  vault 
doors  are  opened,  to  do  what  you  suggest,  and  that  is  pos- 
sessed by  but  three  persons  in  the  bank." 

"  And  those  are  ?  " 

"  The  cashier,  the  janitor,  and  myself." 

He  endeavored  to  speak  calmly  and  without  any  betrayal 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  419 

of  the  effort  it  caused  him  to  utter  those  simple  words,  but  a 
detective's  ear  is  nice  and  it  is  doubtful  if  he  perfectly  suc- 
ceeded. 

Mr.  Gryce  however  limited  himself  to  a  muttered,  humph  ! 
and  a  long  and  thoughtful  look  at  a  spot  on  the  green  baize 
of  the  table  before  which  he  sat. 

"  The  janitor  lives  in  the  building,  I  suppose  ?  " 

"  Yes,  and  is,  as  I  am  sure  Mr.  Stuyvesant  will  second  me 
in  asserting,  honesty  to  the  back-bone." 

"  Janitors  always  are,"  observed  the  detective ;  then 
shortly,  "  How  long  has  he  been  with  you?  " 

"  Three  years." 

Another  "  humph  ! "  and  an  increased  interest  in  the  ink 
spot. 

"  That  is  not  long,  considering  the  responsibility  of  his 
position." 

"  He  was  on  the  police  force  before  he  came  to  us," 
remarked  Mr.  Sylvester. 

Mr.  Gryce  looked  as  if  that  was  not  much  of  a  recom- 
mendation. 

"  As  for  the  short  time  he  has  been  with  us,"  resumed 
the  other.  "  he  came  into  the  bank  the  same  winter  as  my 
nephew  and  myself,  and  has  found  the  time  sufficient  to  earn 
the  respect  of  all  who  know  him." 

The  detective  bowed,  seemingly  awed  by  the  dignity  with 
which  the  last  statement  had  been  uttered  ;  but  any  one  who 
knew  him  well,  would  have  perceived  that  the  film  of  uncer- 
tainty which  had  hitherto  dimmed  the  brightness  of  his 


420  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

regard  was  gone,  as  if  in  the  other's  impressive  manner,  if 
not  in  the  suggestion  his  words  had  unconsciously  offered, 
the  detective  had  received  an  answer  to  some  question  which 
had  been  puzzling  him,  or  laid  his  hand  upon  some  clue 
which  had  till  now  eluded  his  grasp.  The  inquiries  which 
he  made  haste  to  pursue,  betrayed,  however,  but  little  of  the 
tendency  of  his  thoughts. 

"The  janitor,  you  say,  knows  the  combination  by  which 
the  vault  doors  are  opened  ?  " 

"The  vault  doors,'1  emphasized  Mr.  Sylvester.  "The 
safe  is  another  matter ;  that,  stands  inside  the  vault  and  is 
locked  by  a  triple  combination  which  as  a  whole  is  not 
known  to  any  one  man  in  this  building,  not  even  to  myself." 

"  But  the  boxes  are  not  kept  in  the  safe  ?  " 

"  No,  they  are  piled  up  with  the  books  in  the  vaults  at 
the  side  of  the  safe,  as  you  can  see  for'yourself,  if  you  choose 
to  join  Mr.  Folger." 

"  Not  necessary.  The  janitor,  then,  is  the  only  man  be- 
side yourselves,  who  under  any  circumstances  or  for  any 
reason,  could  get  at  those  boxes  after  business  hours  ?  " 

"He  is." 

"  One  question  more.  Who  is  the  man  to  attend  to 
those  boxes?  I  mean  to  ask,  which  of  the  men  in  your  em- 
ploy is  expected  to  procure  a  box  out  of  the  vaults  when  it 
is'  called  for,  and  put  it  back  in  its  place  when  its  owner  is 
through  with  it  ?  " 

"  Hopgood  usually  does  that  business,  the  janitor  of 
whom  we  have  just  been  speaking.  When  he  is  upstairs  or 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  421 

out   of  the  way,  any  one  else  whom  it  may  be  convenient 
to  call." 

T       "  The  janitor,  then,  has  free  access  to  the  boxes  at  all 
times,  night  and  day  ?  " 

"  In  one  sense,  yes,  in  another,  no.  Should  he  unlock 
the  vaults  at  night,  the  watchman  would  report  upon  his 
proceedings." 

"  But  there  must  be  time  between  the  closing  and  open- 
ing of  the  bank,  when  the  janitor  is  alone  with  the  vaults  ? " 

"  There  is  a  space  of  two  hours  after  seven  in  the  morn- 
ing, when  he  is  likely  to  be  the  sole  one  in  charge.  The 
watchman  goes  home,  and  Hopgood  employs  himself  in 
sweeping  out  the  bank  and  preparing  it  for  the  business  of 
the  day." 

"  Are  the  watchman  and  the  janitor  on  good  terms  with 
one  another?  " 

"Very,  I  believe." 

The  detective  looked  thoughtful.  "  I  should  like  to  see 
this  Hopgood,"  said  he. 

But  just  then  the  door  opened  and  Mr.  Folger  came  in, 
looking  somewhat  pale  and  disturbed.  "  We  are  in  a  diffi- 
culty," cried  he,  stepping  up  to  the  table  where  they  sat.  "I 
have  found  two  of  the  boxes  unlocked ;  that  belonging  to 
Hicks,  Saltzer  and  Co.,  and  another  with  the  name  of  Har- 
rington upon  it.  The  former  has  been  wrenched  apart,  the 
latter  opened  with  some  sort  of  instrument.  Would  you  like 
to  see  them,  sir?  "  This  to  Mr.  Sylvester. 

With  a  start  that  gentleman  rose,  and  as  suddenly   re- 


422  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

seated  himself.     *'Yes,"  returned  he,  carefully  avoiding  his 
nephew's  eye ;  "  bring  them  in." 

"  Hicks,  Saltzer  and  Co.,  is  a  foreign  house,"  remarked 
Mr.  Stuyvesant  to  the  detective,  "  and  do  not  send  for  their 
box  once  a  fortnight,  as  I  have  heard  Mr.  Sylvester  declare. 
Mr.  Harrington  is  on  an  exploring  expedition  and  is  at  pres- 
ent in  South  America."  Then  in  lower  tones,  whose  stern- 
ness was  not  unmixed  with  gloom,  "  The  thief  seems  to  have 
known  what  boxes  to  go  to." 

Bertram  flushed  and  made  some  passing  rejoinder  ;  Mr. 
Sylvester  and  the  detective  alone  remained  silent. 

The  boxes  being  brought  in,  Mr.  Gryce  opened  them 
without  ceremony.  Several  papers  met  his  eye  in  both,  but 
as  no  one  but  the  owners  could  know  their  rightful  contents, 
it  was  of  course  impossible  for  him  to  determine  whether 
anything  had  been  stolen  from  them  or  not. 

"Send  for  the  New  York  agent  of  Hicks,  Saltzer  and 
Co.,"  came  from  Mr.  Sylvester,  in  short,  business-like  com- 
mand. 

Bertram  at  once  rose.  "  I  will  see  to  it,"  said  he.  His 
agitation  was  too  great  for  suppression,  the  expression  of 
Mr.  Stuyvesant's  eye,  that  in  its  restlessness  wandered  in 
every  direction  but  his  own,  troubled  him  beyond  endurance. 
With  a  hasty  move  he  left  the  room.  The  cold  eye  of  the 
detective  followed  him. 

•"  Looks  bad,"  came  in  laconic  tones  from  the  paying  teller. 

"  I  had  hoped  the  affair  begun  and  ended  with  my  indi- 
vidual loss,"  muttered  Mr.  Stuyvtsant  under  his  breath. 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  423 

The  stately  president  and  the  inscrutable  detective  still 
maintained  their  silence. 

Suddenly  the  latter  moved.  Turning  towards  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter, he  requested  him  to  step  with  him  to  the  window.  "  I 
want  to  have  a  look  at  your  several  employees,"  whispered 
he,  as  they  thus  withdrew.  "  I  want  to  see  them  without 
being  seen  by  them.  If  you  can  manage  to  have  them  come 
in  here  one  by  one  upon  some  pretext  or  other,  I  can  so  ar- 
range that  screen  under  the  mantel-piece,  that  it  shall  not 
only  hide  me,  but  give  me  a  very  good  view  of  their  faces  in 
the  mirror  overhead." 

"  There  will  be  no  difficulty  about  summoning  the  men," 
said  Mr.  Sylvester. 

"And  you  consent  to  the  scheme?  " 

"  Certainly,  if  you  think  anything  is  to  be  gained  by  it." 

<k  I  am  sure  that  nothing  will  be  lost.  And  sir,  let  the 
cashier  be  present  if  you  please  ;  and  sir,"  squeezing  his 
watch  chain  with  a  complacent  air,  as  the  other  dropped  his 
eyes,  "  talk  to  them  about  anything  that  you  please,  only  let 
it  be  of  a  nature  that  will  necessitate  a  sentence  or  more  in 
reply.  I  judge  a  man  as  much  by  his  voice  as  his  expres- 
sion" 

Mr.  Sylvester  bowed,  and  without  losing  his  self-com- 
mand, though  the  short  allusion  to  Bertram  had  greatly 
startled  him,  turned  back  to  the  table  where  Mr.  Folger  was 
still  standing  in  conversation  with  the  director. 

"  I  will  not  detain  you  longer,"  said  he  to  the  paying 
teller.  "  Your  discretion  will  prevent  you  from  speaking  of 


4^4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

this  matter,  I  trust."  Then  as  the  other  bowed,  added  care- 
lessly, "  I  have  something  to  say  to  Jessup  ;  will  you  see  that 
he  steps  here  for  a  moment  ?  " 

Mr.  Folger  again  nodded  and  left  the  room.  Instantly 
Mr.  Gryce  bustled  forward,  and  pulling  the  screen  into  the 
position  he  thought  best  calculated  to  answer  his  require- 
ments, slid  rapidly  behind  it.  Mr.  Stuyvesant  looked  up  in 
surprise. 

"  I  am  going  to  interview  the  clerks  for  Mr.  Gryce's 
benefit,"  exclaimed  Mr.  Sylvester.  "  Will  you  in  the  mean- 
time look  over  the  morning  paper  ?  " 

"  Thank  you,"  returned  the  other,  edging  nervously  to 
one  side,  "  my  note-book  will  do  just  as  well,"  and  sitting 
down  at  the  remote  end  of  the  table,  he  took  out  a  book 
from  his  pocket,  above  which  he  bent  with  very  well  simu- 
lated preoccupation.  Mr.  Sylvester  called  in  Bertram  and 
then  seated  himself  with  a  hopeless  and  unexpectant  look, 
which  he  for  the  moment  forgot  would  be  reflected  in  the 
mirror  before  him,  and  so  carried  to  the  eye  of  the  watchful 
detective.  In  another  instant  Jessup  entered. 

What  was  said  in  the  short  interview  that  followed,  is  un- 
important. Mr.  Jessup,  the  third  teller,  was  one  of  those 
clear  eyed,  straightforward  appearing  men  whose  counten- 
ance is  its  own  guarantee.  It  was  not  necessary  to  detain 
him  or  make  him  speak.  The  next  man  to  come  in  was 
Watson,  and  after  he  had  gone,  two  or  three  of  the  clerks, 
and  later  the  receiving  teller  and  one  of  the  runners.  All 
stopped  long  enough  to  insure  Mr.  Gryce  a  good  view  of 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  425 

their  faces,  and  from  each  and  all  did  Mr.  Sylvester  succeed 
in  eliciting  more  or  less  conversation  in  response  to  the  ques- 
tions he  chose  to  put. 

With  the  disappearance  of  the  last  mentioned  individual, 
Mr.  Gryce  peeped  from  behind  the  screen.  "A  set  of  as 
honest-looking  men  as  I  wish  to  see  !  "  uttered  he  with  a 
frank  cordiality  that  was  scarcely  reflected  in  the  anxious 
countenances  about  him.  "  No  sly-boots  among  them  ;  how 
about  the  janitor,  Hopgood  ?  " 

"  He  shall  be  summoned  at  once,  if  you  desire  it,"  said 
Mr.  Sylvester,  "I  have  only  delayed  calling  him  that  I  might 
have  leisure  to  interrogate  him  with  reference  to  his  duties, 
and  this  very  theft.  That  is  if  you  judge  it  advisable  in  me 
to  tamper  with  the  subject  unassisted  ?  " 

"  Your  nephew  can  help  you  if  necessary,  replied  the  im- 
perturbable detective.  "  I  should  like  to  hear  what  the 
man,  Hopgood,  has  to  say  for  himself,"  and  he  glided  back 
into  his  old  position. 

But  Mr.  Sylvester  had  scarcely  reached  out  his  hand  to 
ring  the  bell  by  which  he  usually  summoned  the  janitor, 
when  the  agent  of  Hicks,  Saltzer  &  Co.  came  in.  It  was  an 
interruption  that  demanded  instant  attention.  Saluting  the 
gentleman  with  his  usual  proud  reserve,  he  drew  his  atten- 
tion to  the  box  lying  upon  the  table. 

"This  is  yours,  I  believe,  sir,"  said  he.  "It  was  found  in 
our  vaults  this  morning  in  the  condition  in  which  you  now 
behold  it,  and  we  are  anxious  to  know  if  its  contents  are  all 
correct." 


42  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  They  have  been  handled,"  returned  the  agent,  after  a 
careful  survey  of  the  various  papers  that  filled  the  box,  "  but 
nothing  appears  to  be  missing." 

Three  persons  at  least  in  that  room  breathed  more  easily. 

"  But  the  truth  is,"  the  gentleman  continued,  with  a  half 
smile  towards  the  silent  President  of  the  bank,  "  there  was 
nothing  in  this  box  that  would  have  been  of  much  use  to 
any  oth'er  parties  than  ourselves.  If  there  had  been  a  bond 
or  so  here,  I  doubt  if  we  should  have  come  off  so  fortunately, 
eh  ?  The  lock  has  evidently  been  wrenched  open,  and  that  is 
certainly  a  pretty  sure  sign  that  something  is  not  right  here- 
abouts." 

"  Something  is  decidedly  wrong,"  came  from  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter sternly ;  "  but  through  whose  fault  we  do  not  as  yet 
know."  And  with  a  few  words  expressive  of  his  relief  at 
finding  the  other  had  sustained  no  material  loss,  he  allowed 
the  agent  to  depart. 

He  had  no  sooner  left  the  room  than  Mr.  Stuyvesant 
rose.  "  Are  you  going  to  question  Hopgood  now  ?  "  queried 
he,  nervously  pocketing  his  note-book. 

"  Yes  sir  if  you  have  no  objections." 

The  director  fidgeted  with  his  chair  and  finally  moved 
towards  the  door.  "  I  think  you  will  get  along  better  with 
him  alone,"  said  he.  "  He  is  a  man  who  very  easily  gets 
embarrassed,  and  has  a  way  of  acting  as  if  he  were  afraid  of 
me.  I  will  just  step  outside  while  you  talk  to  him." 

But  Mr.  Sylvester  with  a  sudden  dark  flush  on  his  brow, 
hastily  stopped  him.  "  I  beg  you  will  not,"  said  he,  with  a 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  427 

quick  realization  of  what  Hopgood  might  be  led  to  say  in 
the  forthcoming  interview,  if  he  were  not  restrained  by  the 
presence  of  the  director.  "  Hopgood  is  not  so  afraid  of  you 
that  he  will  not  answer  every  question  that  is  put  to  him 
with  straightforward  frankness."  And  he  pushed  up  a  chair, ' 
with  a  smile  that  Mr.  Stuyvesant  evidently  found  himself 
unable  to  resist.  The  screen  trembled  slightly,  but  none  of 
them  noticed  it ;  Mr.  Sylvester  at  once  rang  for  Hopgood. 

He  came  in  panting  with  his  hurried  descent  from  the 
fifth  story,  his  face  flushed  and  his  eyes  rolling,  but  without 
any  of  the  secret  perturbation  Bertram  had  observed  in  them 
on  a  former  occasion.  "  He  cannot  help  us,"  was  the 
thought  that  darkened  the  young  man's  brow  as  his  eyes 
left  the  janitor,  and  faltering  towards  his  uncle,  fell  upon  the 
table  before  him. 

Everything  was  reflected  in  the  mirror. 

"  Well,  Hopgood,  I  have  a  few  questions  to  put  to  you 
this  morning,"  said  Mr.  Sylvester  in  a  restrained,  but  not  un- 
kindly tone. 

The  worthy  man  bowed,  bestowed  a  salutatory  roll  of  his 
eyes  on  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  and  stood  deferentially  waiting. 

"  No,  he  cannot  help  us,"  was  again  Bertram's  thought, 
and  again  his  eyes  faltered  to  his  uncle's  face,  and  again  fell 
anxiously  before  him. 

"  It  has  not  been  my  habit  to  trouble  you  with  inquiries, 
about  your  management  of  matters  under  your  charge,"  con- 
tinued  Mr.  Sylvester,  stopping  till  the  janitor's  wandering 
eyes  settled  upon  his  own.     "  Your  conduct  has  always  been 


428  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

exemplary,  and  your  attention  to  duty  satisfactory ;  but  I 
would  like  to  ask  you  to-day  if  you  have  observed  anything 
amiss  with  the  vaults  of  late  ?  anything  wrong  about  the 
boxes  kept  there  ?  anything  in  short,  that  excited  your  sus- 
picion or  caused  you  to  ask  yourself  if  everything  was  as  it 
should  be  ? " 

The  janitor's  ruddy  face  grew  pale,  and  his  eye  fell  with 
startled  inquiry  on  Mr.  Harrington's  box  that  still  occupied 
the  centre  of  the  table.  "  No,  sir,"  he  emphatically  replied, 
"  has  anything — " 

But  Mr.  Sylvester  did  not  wait  to  be  questioned.  "You 
have  attended  to  your  duties  as  promptly  and  conscientiously 
as  usual  ;  you  have  allowed  no  one  to  go  to  the  vaults  day 
or  night,  who  had  no  business  there  ?  You  have  not  relaxed 
your  accustomed  vigilance,  or  left  the  bank  alone  at  any 
time  during  the  hours  it  is  under  your  charge  ?  " 

"  No  sir,  not  for  a  minute,  sir ;  that  is — "  He  stopped 
and  his  eye  wandered  towards  Mr.  Stuyvesant.  "  Never  for 
a  minute,  sir,"  he  went  on,  "  without  I  knew  some  one  was 
in  the  bank,  who  was  capable  of  looking  after  it." 

"  The  watchman  has  been  at  his  post  every  night  up  to 
the  usual  hour  ?  " 

"  Yes  sir." 

"  There  has  been  no  carelessness  in  closing  the  rault 
doors  after  the  departure  of  the  clerks  ?  " 

"No  sir." 

"  And  no  trouble,"  he  continued,  with  a  shade  more  of 
dignity,  possibly  because  Hopgood's  tell-tale  face  was  begin- 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  429 

ning  to  show  signs  of  anxious  confusion,  "  and  no  trouble  in 
opening  them  at  the  proper  time  each  morning  ?  " 

"  No  sir." 

'*  One  question  more — " 

But  here  Bertram  was  called  out,  and  in  the  momentary 
stir  occasioned  by  his  departure,  Hopgood  allowed  himself 
to  glance  at  the  box  before  him  more  intently  than  he  had 
hitherto  presumed  to  do.  He  saw  it  was  unlocked,  and  his 
hands  began  to  tremble.  Mr.  Sylvester's  voice  recalled  him 
to  himself. 

"  You  are  a  faithful  man,"  said  that  gentleman,  continu- 
ing his  speech  of  a  minute  before,  "  and  as  such  we  are 
ready  to  acknowledge  you ;  but  the  most  conscientious 
amongst  us  are  sometimes  led  into  indiscretions.  Now  have 
you  ever  through  carelessness  or  by  means  of  any  inadver- 
tence, revealed  to  any  one  in  or  out  of  the  bank,  the  particu- 
lar combination  by  which  the  lock  of  the  vault-door  is  at 
present  opened  ? " 

"  No  sir,  indeed  no ;  I  am  much  too  anxious,  and  feel 
my  own  responsibility  entirely  too  much,  not  to  preserve  so 
important  a  secret  with  the  utmost  care  and  jealousy." 

Mr.  Sylvester's  voice,  careful  as  he  was  to  modulate  it; 
showed  a  secret  discouragement.  "  The  vaults  then  as  far  as 
you  know,  are  safe  when  once  they  are  closed  for  the  night  ?" 

"  Yes  sir."  The  janitor's  face  expressed  a  slight  degree 
oi  wonder,  but  his  voice  was  emphatic. 

Mr.  Sylvester's  eye  travelled  in  the  direction  of  the 
screen.  "  Very  well,"  said  he ;  and  paused  to  reflect. 


430  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

In  the  interim  the  door  opened  for  a  second  time.  "  A 
gentleman  to  see  Mr.  Stuyvesant,"  said  a  voice. 

With  an  air  of  relief  the  director  hastily  rose,  and  before 
Mr.  Sylvester  had  realized  his  position,  left  the  room  and 
closed  the  door  behind  him.  A  knell  seemed  to  ring  its 
note  in  Mr.  Sylvester's  breast.  The  janitor,  released  as  he 
supposed  from  all  constraint,  stepped  hastily  forward. 

"  That  box  has  been  found  unlocked,"  he  cried  with  a 
wave  of  his  hand  towards  the  table  ;  some  one  has  been  to 
the  vaults,  and  I — Oh,  sir,"  he  hurriedly  exclaimed,  disre- 
garding in  his  agitation  the  stern  and  forbidding  look  which 
Mr.  Sylvester  in  his  secret  despair  had  made  haste  to  as- 
sume, "  you  did  not  want  me  to  say  anything  about  the 
time  you  came  down  so  early  in  the  morning,  and  I  went  out 
and  left  you  alone  in  the  bank,  and  you  went  to  the  vaults 
and  opened  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  box  by  mistake,  with  a  tooth- 
pick as  you  remember  ?  " 

The  mirror  that  looked  down  upon  that  pair,  showed  one 
very  white  face  at  that  moment,  but  the  screen  that  had 
trembled  a  moment  before,  stood  strangely  still  in  the  silence. 

"  No,"  came  at  length  from  Mr.  Sylvester,  with  a  com- 
posure that  astonished  himself.  "  I  was  not  questioning  you 
about  matters  of  a  year  agone.  But  you  might  have  told 
that  incident  if  you  pleased  ;  it  was  very  easily  explainable." 

"Yes  sir,  I  know,  and  I  beg  pardon  for  alluding  to  it,  but 
I  was  so  taken  aback,  sir,  by  your  questions  ;  I  wanted  to  tell 
the  exact  truth,  and  I  did  not  want  to  say  anything  that 
would  hurt  you  with  Mr.  Stuyvesant ;  th*at  is  if  I  could  help 


FROM  A.TO   Z.  431 

it.  I  hope  I  did  right,  sir,"  he  blundered  on,  conscious  he 
was  uttering  words  he  might  better  have  kept  to  himself,  but 
too  embarrassed  to  know  how  to  emerge  from  the  difficulty 
into  which  his  mingled  zeal  and  anxiety  had  betrayed  him. 
"  I  was  never  a  good  hand  at  answering  questions,  and  if  any 
thing  really  serious  has  happened,  I  shall  wish  you  had  taken 
me  at  my  word  and  dismissed  me  immediately  after  that  affair. 
Constantia  Maria  would  have  been  a  little  worse  off  perhaps, 
but  I  should  not  be  on  hand  to  answer  questions,  and — " 

"  Hopgood  !  " 

The  man  started,  eyed  Mr.  Sylvester's  white  but  power- 
fully controlled  countenance,  seemed  struck  with  something 
he  saw  there,  and  was  silent. 

"  You  make  too  much  now,  as  you  made  too  much  then 
of  a  matter  that  having  its  sole  ground  in  a  mistake,  is,  as  I 
say,  easily  explainable.  This  affair  which  has  come  up  now, 
is  not  so  clear.  Three  of  the  boxes  have  been  opened,  and 
from  one  certain  valuables  have  been  taken.  Can  you  give 
me  any  information  that  will  assist  us  in  our  search  after  the 
culprit  ?  " 

"  No  sir."  The  tone  was  quite  humble,  Hopgood  drew 
back  unconsciously  towards  the  door. 

"As  for  the  mistake  of  a  year  ago  to  which  you  have 
seen  proper  to  allude,  I  shall  myself  take  pains  to  inform 
Mr.  Stuyvesant  of  it,  since  it  has  made  such  an  impression 
upon  you  that  it  trammels  your  honesty  and  makes  you  con- 
sider it  at  all  necessary  to  be  anxious  about  it  at  this  time." 

And  Hopgood  unused   :o  sarcasm  from  those  lips,  drew 


432  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

himself  together,  and  with  one  more  agitated  look  at  the  box 
on  the  table,  sidled  awkwardly  from  the  room.  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter at  once  advanced  to  the  screen  which  he  hastily  pushed 
aside.  ''Well,  sir,"  said  he,  meeting  the  detective's  wavering 
eye  and  forcing  him  to  return  his  look,  '*  you  have  now 
seen  the  various  employees  of  the  bank  and  heard  most  of 
them  converse.  Is  there  anything  more  you  would  like  to 
inquire  into  before  giving  us  the  opinion  I  requested  ?  " 

"  No  sir,"  said  the  detective,  coming  forward,  but  very 
slowly  and  somewhat  hesitatingly  for  him.  "  I  think  I  am 
ready  to  say — " 

Here  the  door  opened,  and  Mr.  Stuyvesant  returned. 
The  detective  drew  a  breath  of  relief  and  repeated  his  words 
with  a  business-like  assurance.  "  I  think  I  am  ready  to  say, 
that  from  the  nature  of  the  theft  and  the  mysterious  manner 
in  which  it  has  been  perpetrated,  suspicion  undoubtedly 
points  to  some  one  connected  with  the  bank.  That  is  all 
that  you  require  of  me  to--day  ?  "  he  added,  with  a  bow  of 
some  formality  in  the  direction  of  Mr.  Sylvester. 

"  Yes,"  was  the  short  reply.  But  in  an  instant  a  change 
passed  over  the  stately  form  of  the  speaker.  Advancing  to 
Mr.  Gryce,  he  confronted  him  with  a  countenance  almost 
majestic  in  its  severity,  and  somewhat  severely  remarked, 
"  This  is  a  serious  charge  to  bring  against  men  whose  counte- 
nances you  yourself  have  denominated  as  honest.  Are  we 
to  believe  you  have  fully  considered  the  question,  and  real- 
ize the  importance  of  what  you  say  ?  " 

"  Mr.  Sylvester,"   replied  the  detective,  with  great  self- 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  433 

possession  and  some  dignity,  "  a  man  who  is  brought  every 
day  of  his  life  into  positions  where  the  least  turning  of  a  hair 
will  sink  a  man  or  save  him,  learns  to  weigh  his  words,  be- 
fore he  speaks  even  in  such  informal  inquiries  as  these." 

Mr.  Sylvester  bowed  and  turned  towards  Mr.  Stuyvesant. 
"  Is  there  any  further  action  you  would  like  to  have  taken 
in  regard  to  this  matter  to-day  ? "  he  asked,  without  a  trem- 
ble in  his  voice. 

With  a  glance  at  the  half  open  box  of  the  absent  Mr. 
Harrington,  the  agitated  director  slowly  shook  his  head. 
"  We  must  have  time  to  think,"  said  he. 

Mr.  Gryce  at  once  took  up  his  hat.  "  If  the  charge  im- 
plied in  my  opinion  strikes  you,  gentlemen,  as  serious,  you 
must  at  least  acknowledge  that  your  own  judgment  does  not 
greatly  differ  from  mine,  or  why  such  unnecessary  agitation 
in  regard  to  a  loss  so  petty,  by  a  gentleman  worth  as  we  are 
told  his  millions."  And  with  this  passing  shot,  to  which 
neither  of  his  auditors  responded,  he  made  his  final  obei- 
sance and  calmly  left  the  room. 

Mr.  Sylvester  and  Mr.  Stuyvesant  slowly  confronted  one 
another. 

"  The  man  speaks  the  truth,"  said  the  former.  "  You  at 
least  suspect  some  one  in  the  bank,  Mr.  Stuyvesant  ?  " 

"  I  have  no  wish  to,"  hastily  returned  the  other,  "  but 
facts — " 

"  Would  facts  of  this  nature  have  any  weight  with  you 
against  the  unspotted  character  of  a  man  never  known  by 
you  to  meditate,  much  less  commit  a  dishonest  action  ?  " 


434  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  No  ;  yet  facts  are  facts,  and  if  it  is  proved  that  some 
one  in  our  employ  has  perpetrated  a  theft,  the  mind  will  un- 
consciously ask  who,  and  remain  uneasy  till  it  is  satisfied." 

"  And  if  it  never  is  ?  " 

"  It  will  always  ask  who,  I  suppose." 

Mr.  Sylvester  drew  back.  "  The  matter  shall  be 
pushed,"  said  he  ;  "  you  shall  be  satisfied.  Surveillance 
over  each  man  employed  in  this  institution  ought  sooner 
or  later  to  elicit  the  truth.  The  police  shall  take  it  in 
charge." 

Mr.  Stuyvesant  looked  uneasy.  "  I  suppose  it  is  only 
justice,"  murmured  he,  "  but  it  is  a  scandal  I  would  have 
been  glad  to  avoid." 

"  And  I,  but  circumstances  admit  of  no  other  course. 
The  innocent  must  not  suffer  for  the  guilty,  even  so  far  as  an 
unfounded  suspicion  would  lead." 

"  No,  no,  of  course  not."  And  the  director  bustled  about 
after  his  overcoat  and  hat. 

Mr.  Sylvester  watched  him  with  growing  sadness.  "  Mr. 
Stuyvesant,"  said  he,  as  the  latter  stood  before  him  ready  for 
the  street,  "  we  have  always  been  on  terms  of  friendship,  and 
nothing  but  the  most  pleasant  relations  have  ever  existed 
between  us.  Will  you  pardon  me  if  I  ask  you  to  give  me 
your  hand  in  good-day  ?  " 

The  director  paused,  looked  a  trifle  astonished,  but  held 
out  his  hand  not  only  with  cordiality  but  very  evident  af- 
fection. 

"  Good  day,"  cried  he,  "  good-day." 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  435 

Mr.  Sylvester  pressed  that  hand,  and  then  with  a  dignified 
bow,  allowed  the  director  to  depart.  It  was  his  last  effort  at 
composure.  When  the  door  closed,  his  head  sank  on  his 
hands,  and  life  with  all  its  hopes  and  honors,  love  and  happi- 
ness, seemed  to  die  within  him. 

He  was  interrupted  at  length  by  Bertram.  "  Well, 
uncle  ?  "  asked  the  young  man  with  unrestrained  emotion. 

"  The  theft  has  been  committed  by  some  one  in  this 
bank  ;  so  the  detective  gives  out,  and  so  we  are  called  upon 
to  believe.  Who  the  man  is  who  has  caused  us  all  this 
misery,  neither  he,  nor  you,  nor  I,  nor  any  one,  is  likely  to 
very  soon  determine.  Meantime — " 

"  Well  ? "  cried  Bertram  anxiously,  after  a  moment  of 
suspense. 

"  Meantime,  courage !  "  his  uncle  resumed  with  forced 
cheerfulness. 

But  as  he  was  leaving  the  bank  he  came  up  to  Bertram, 
and  laying  his  hand  on  his  shoulder,  quietly  said  : 

"  I  want  you  to  go  immediately  to  my  house  upon  leav- 
ing here.  I  may  not  be  back  till  midnight,  and  Miss  Fair- 
child  may  need  the  comfort  of  your  presence.  Will  you  do 
it,  Bertram  ?  " 

"  Uncle  !     I—" 

"  Hush  !  you  will  comfort  me  best  by  doing  what  I  ask. 
May  I  rely  upon  you  ?  " 

"Always." 

"  That  is  enough." 

And  with  just  a  final  look,  the  two  gentlemen  parted,  and 


436  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

the  shadow  which  had  rested  all  day  upon  the  bank,  deep- 
ened over  Bertram's  head  like  a  pall. 

It  was  not  lifted  by  the  sight  of  Hopgood  stealing  a  few 
minutes  later  towards  the  door  by  which  his  uncle  had 
departed,  his  face  pale,  and  his  eyes  fixed  in  a  stare,  that 
bespoke  some  deep  and  moving  determination. 


XXXVIII. 
BLUE-BEARD'S  CHAMBER. 

"  Present  fears 
Are  less  than  horrible  imaginings."— MACBETH. 

CLARENCE  ENSIGN  was  not  surprised  at  the  refusal  he 
received  from  Paula.  He  had  realized  from  the  first  that 
the  love  of  this  beautiful  woman  would  be  difficult  to  ob- 
tain, even  if  no  rival  with  more  powerful  inducements  than 
his  own,  should  chance  to  cross  his  path.  She  was  one  who 
could  be  won  to  give  friendship,  consideration,  and  sym- 
pathy without  stint ;  but  from  the  very  fact  that  she  could  so 
easily  be  induced  to  grant  these,  he  foresaw  the  improbabil- 
ity, or  at  least  the  difficulty  of  enticing  her  to  yield  more. 
A  woman  whose  hand  warms  towards  the  other  sex  in  ready 
friendship,  is  the  last  to  succumb  to  the  entreaties  of  love. 
The  circle  of  her  sympathies  is  so  large,  the  man  must  do 
well,  who  of  all  his  sex,  pierces  to  the  sacred  centre.  The 
appearance  of  Mr.  Sylvester  on  the  scene,  settled  his  fate, 
or  so  he  believed  ;  but  he  was  too  much  in  earnest  to  yield 
his  hopes  without  another  effort  ;  so  upon  the  afternoon  of 
this  eventful  day,  he  called  upon  Paula. 

The  first  glimpse  he  obtained  of  her  countenance,  con- 
vinced him  that  he  was  indeed  too  late.  Not  for  him  that 


438  THE  SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

anxious  pallor,  giving  way  to  a  rosy  tinge  at  the  least  sound 
in  the  streets  without.  Not  for  him  that  wandering  glance, 
burning  with  questions  to  which  nothing  seemed  able  to 
grant  reply.  The  very  smile  with  which  she  greeted  him, 
was  a  blow ;  it  was  so  forgetful  of  the  motive  that  had 
brought  him  there. 

"  Miss  Fairchild,"  he  stammered,  with  a  generous  im- 
pulse to  save  her  unnecessary  pain,  "  you  have  rejected  my 
offer  and  settled  my  doom  ;  but  let  me  believe  that  I  have 
not  lost  your  regard,  or  that  hold  upon  your  friendship 
which  it  has  hitherto  been  my  pleasure  to  enjoy." 

She  woke  at  once  to  a  realization  of  his  position.  "  Oh 
Mr.  Ensign,"  she  murmured,  "can  you  doubt  my  regard  or 
the  truth  of  my  friendship  ?  It  is  for  me  to  doubt ;  I  have 
caused  you  such  pain,  and  as  you  may  think,  so  ruthlessly 
and  with  such  lack  of  consideration.  I  have  been  peculiarly 
placed,"  she  blushingly  proceeded.  "A  woman  does  not 
always  know  her  own  heart,  or  if  she  does,  sometimes  hesi- 
tates to  yield  to  its  secret  impulses.  I  have  led  you  astray 
these  last  few  weeks,  but  I  first  went  astray  myself.  The 
real  path  in  which  I  ought  to  tread,  was  only  last  night  re- 
vealed to  me.  I  can  say  no  more,  Mr.  Ensign." 

"Nor  is  it  necessary,"  replied  he.  "You  have  chosen 
the  better  path,  and  the  better  man.  May  life  abound  in 
joys  for  you,  Miss  Fairchild." 

She  drew  herself  up  and  her  hand  went  involuntarily  to 
her  heart.  "  It  is  not  joy  I  seek,"  said  she,  "  but — " 

"  What  ?  "     He  looked  at  her  face  .lit  with  that  heavenly 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  439 

gleam  that  visited  it  in  rare  moments  of  deepest  emotion, 
and  wondered. 

"  Joy  is  in  seeing  the  one  you  love  happy,"  cried  she ; 
"  earth  holds  none  that  is  sweeter  or  higher." 

"Then  may  that  be  yours,"  he  murmured,  manfully  sub- 
duing the  jealous  pang  natural  under  the  circumstances. 
And  taking  the  hand  she  held  out  to  him,  he  kissed  it  with 
greater  reverence  and  truer  affection  than  when,  in  the  first 
joyous  hours  of  their  intercourse,  he  carried  it  so  gallantly  to 
his  lips. 

And  she — oh,  difference  of  time  and  feeling — did  not 
remember  as  of  yore,  the  noble  days  of  chivalry,  though  he 
was  in  this  moment,  so  much  more  than  ever  the  true  knight 
and  the  reproachless  cavalier. 

For  Paula's  heart  was  heavy.  Fears  too  unsubstantial 
to  be  met  and  vanquished,  had  haunted  her  steps  all  day. 
The  short  note  which  Mr.  Sylvester  had  written  her,  lay  like 
lead  upon  her  bosom.  She  longed  for  the  hours  to  fly,  yet 
dreaded  to  hear  the  clock  tick  out  the  moments  that  possi- 
bly were  destined  to  bring  her  untold  suffering  and  disap- 
pointment. A  revelation  awaiting  her  in  Mr.  Sylvester's 
desk  up  stairs  ?  That  meant  separation  and  farewell  ;  for 
words  of  promise  and  devotion  can  be  spoken,  and .  the 
heart  that  hopes,  does  not  limit  time  to  hours. 

With  Bertram's  entrance,  her  fears  took  absolute  shape. 
Mr.  Sylvester  was  not  coming  home  to  dinner.  Thence- 
forward till  seven  o'clock,  she  sat  with  her  hand  on  her 
heart,  waiting.  At  the  stroke  of  the  clock,  she  rose,  and 


44°  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

procuring  a  candle  from  her  room,  went  slowly  up  stairs. 
"  Watch  for  me,"  she  had  said  to  Aunt  Belinda,  "  for  I  fear  I 
shall  need  your  care  when  I  come  down." 

What  is  there  about  a  mystery  however  trivial,  that  thrills 
the  heart  with  vague  expectancy  at  the  least  lift  of  the  con- 
cealing curtain  !  As  Paula  paused  before  the  door,  which 
never  to  her  knowledge  had  opened  to  the  passage  of  any 
other  form  than  that  of  Mr.  Sylvester,  she  was  conscious 
of  an  agitation  wholly  distinct  from  that  which  had  hitherto 
afflicted  her.  All  the  past  curiosity  of  Ona  concerning  this 
room,  together  with  her  devices  for  satisfying  that  curiosity, 
recurred  to  Paula  with  startling  distinctness.  It  was  as  if 
the  white  hand  of  that  dead  wife  had  thrust  itself  forth  from 
the  shadows  to  pull  her  back.  The  candle  trembled  in  her 
grasp,  and  she  unconsciously  recoiled.  But  the  next  mo- 
ment the  thought  of  Mr.  Sylvester  struck  warmth  and  deter- 
mination through  her  being,  and  hastily  thrusting  the  key 
into  the  lock,  she  pushed  open  the  door  and  stepped  across 
the  threshold. 

Her  first  movement  was  that  of  surprise.  In  all  her 
dreams  of  the  possible  appearance  of  this  room,  she  had 
never  imagined  it  to  be  like  this.  Plain,  rude  and  homely, 
its  high  walls  unornamented,  its  floor  uncovered,  its  furniture 
limited  to  a  plain  desk  and  two  or  three  rather  uncomforta- 
ble-looking chairs,  it  struck  upon  her  fancy  with  the  same 
sense  of  incongruity,  as  might  the  sight  of  a  low-eaved  cot- 
tage in  the  midst  of  stately  palaces  and  lordly  pleasure- 
grounds.  Setting  down  her  candle,  she  folded  her  hands  to 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  441 

still  their  tremblings,  and  slowly  looked  around  her.  This 
was  the  spot,  then,  to  which  he  was  accustomed  to  flee  when 
oppressed  by  any  care  or  harassed  by  any  difficulty ;  this 
cold,  bare,  uninviting  apartment  with  its  forbidding  aspect 
unsoftened  by  the  tokens  of  a  woman's  care  or  presence  ! 
To  this  room,  humbler  than  any  in  her  aunt's  home  in  Grote- 
weH,  he  had  brought  all  his  griefs,  from  the  day  his  baby  lay 
dead  in  the  rooms  below,  to  that  awful  hour  which  saw  the 
wife  and  mother  brought  into  his  doors  and  laid  a  cold  and 
pulseless  form  in  the  midst  of  his  gorgeous  parlors  !  Here 
he  had  met  his  own  higher  impulses  face  to  face,  and  wres- 
tled with  them  through  the  watches  of  the  night  !  In  this 
wilderness  of  seeming  poverty,  he  had  dreamed,  perhaps,  his 
first  fond  dream  of  her  as  a  woman,  and  signed  perhaps  his 
final  renunciation  of  her  as  the  future  companion  of  his 
life  !  What  did  it  mean  ?  Why  a  spot  of  so  much  desola- 
tion in  the  midst  of  so  much  that  was  tordly  and  luxurious  ? 
Her  fears  might  give  her  a  possible  interpretation,  but  she 
would  not  listen  to  fears.  Only  his  words  should  instruct 
her.  Going  to  the  desk,  she  opened  it.  A  sealed  envelope 
addressed  to  herself,  immediately  met  her  eyes.  Taking  it 
out  with  a  slow  and  reverent  touch,  she  began  to  read  the 
long  and  closely  written  letter  which  it  contained. 

And  the  little  candle  burned  on,  shedding  its  rays  over 
her  bended  head  and  upon  the  dismal  walls  about  her,  with 
a  persistency  that  seemed  to  bring  out,  as  in  letters  of  fire, 
the  hidden  history  of  long  ago,  with  its  vanished  days  and 
its  forgotten  midnights. 


XXXIX. 

FROM    A.  TO    Z. 
"  A  naked  human  heart." — YOUNG. 

"  My  BELOVED  CHILD  : 

"  So  may  I  call  you  in  this  the  final  hour  of  our  separa- 
tion, but  never  again,  dear  one,  never  again.  When  I  said 
to  you,  just  twenty-four  hours  ago,  that  my  sin  was  buried 
and  my  future  was  clear,  I  spake  as  men  speak  who  forget 
the  justice  of  God  and  dream  only  of  his  mercy.  An  hour's 
time  convinced  me  that  an  evil  deed  once  perpetrated  by  a 
man,  is  never  buried  so  that  its  ghost  will  not  rise.  Do  as 
we  will,  repent  as  we^may,  the  shadowy  phantom  of  a  stained 
and  unrighteous  youth  is  never  laid  ;  nor  is  a  man  justified 
in  believing  it  so,  till  death  has  closed  his  eyes,  and  fame 
written  its  epitaph  upon  his  tomb. 

"  Paula,  I  am  at  this  hour  wandering  in  search  of  the  be 
ing  who  holds  the  secret  of  my  life  and  who  will  to-morro\v 
blazon  it  before  all  the  world.  It  is  with  no  hope  I  seek 
him.  God  has  not  brought  me  to  this  pass,  to  release  me  at 
last,  from  shame  and  disgrace.  Suffering  and  the  loss  of  all 
my  sad  heart  cherished,  wait  at  my  gates.  Only  one  boon 
remains,  and  that  is,  your  sympathy  and  the  consolation  of 
your  regard.  These,  though  bestowed  as  friends  bestow 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  443 

them,  are  very  precious  to  me ;  I  cannot  see  them  go,  and 
that  they  may  not,  I  tell  you  the  full  story  of  my  life. 

"  My  youth  was  happy — my  early  youth,  I  mean.  Ber- 
tram's father  was  a  dear  brother  to  me,  and  my  mother  a 
watchful  guardian  and  a  tender  friend.  At  fifteen,  I  entered 
a  bank,  the  small  bank  in  Grotewell,  which  you  ought  to 
remember.  From  the  lowest  position  in  it,  I  gradually 
worked  my  way  up  till  I  occupied  the  cashier's  place  ;  and 
was  just  congratulating  myself  upon  my  prospects,  when 
Ona  Delafield  returned  from  boarding-school,  a  young  lady. 

"  Paula,  there  is  a  fascination,  which  some  men  who  have 
known  nothing  deeper  and  higher,  call  love.  I,  who  in  those 
days  had  cherished  but  few  thoughts  beyond  the  ordinary 
reach  of  a  narrow  and  somewhat  selfish  business  mind, 
imagined  that  the  well-spring  of  all  romance  had  bubbled 
up  within  me,  when  my  eyes  first  fell  upon  this  regal  blonde, 
with  her  sleepy,  inscrutable  eyes  and  bewildering  smile. 
Ulysses  within  sound  of  the  siren's  voice,  was  nothing  to  it. 
He  had  been  warned  of  his  danger  and  had  only  his  own 
curiosity  to  combat,  while  I  was  not  even  aware  of  my  peril, 
and  floated  within  reach  of  this  woman's  power,  without  mak- 
ing an  effort  to  escape.  She  was  so  subtle  in  her  influence, 
Paula  ;  so  careless  in  the  very  exercise  of  her  sovereignty. 
She  never  seemed  to  command  ;  yet  men  and  women  obeyed 
her.  Peculiarities  which  mar  the  matron,  are  often  graces  in 
a  young,  unmarried  girl,  whose  thoughts  are  a  mystery,  and 
whose  emotions  an  untried  field.  I  believed  I  had  found 
the  queen  of  all  beauty  and  when  in  an  unguarded  hour  she 


444  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

betrayed  her  first  appreciation  of  my  devotion,  I  seemed  to 
burst  into  a  Paradise  of  delights,  where  every  step  I  took, 
only  the  more  intoxicated  and  bevyiidered  me.  My  first 
realization  of  the  sensuous  and  earthly  character  of  my 
happiness  came  with  the  glimpse  of  your  child-face  on  that 
never-to-be-forgotten  day  when  we  met  beside  the  river. 
Like  a  star  seen  above  the  glare  of  a  conflagration,  the  pure 
spirit  that  informed  your  glance,  flashed  on  my  burning  soul, 
and  for  a  moment  I  knew  that  in  you  budded  the  kind  of 
woman-nature  which  it  befitted  a  man  to  seek  ;  that  in  the 
hands  of  such  a  one  as  you  would  make,  should  he  trust  his 
honor  and  bequeath  his  happiness.  But  when  did  a  lover 
ever  break  the  bonds  that  imprisoned  his  fancy,  at  the  inspi- 
ration of  a  passing  voice.  I  went  back  to  Ona  and  forgot 
the  child  by  the  river. 

"  Paula,  I  have  no  time  to  utter  regrets.  This  is  a  hard 
plain  tale  which  I  have  to  relate  ;  but  if  you  love  me  still — 
if,  as  I  have  sometimes  imagined,  you  have  always  loved  me — 
think  what  my  life  had  been  if  I  had  heeded  the  warning 
which  God  vouchsafed  me  on  that  day,  and  contrast  it  with 
what  it  is,  and  what  it  must  be. 

"  I  went  back  to  Ona,  then,  and  the  hold  which  she  had 
upon  me  from  the  first,  took  form  and  shape.  As  well  as 
she  could  love  any  one,  she  loved  me,  and  though  she  had 
offers  from  one  or  two  more  advantageous  sources,  she 
finally  decided  that  she  would  risk  the  future  and  accept  me, 
if  her  father  consented  to  the  alliance.  You  who  are  the 
niece  of  the  man  of  whom  I  must  now  speak,  may  or  may 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  445 

not  know  what  that  meant.  I  doubt  if  you  do ;  he  left 
Grotewell  while  you  were  a  child,  and  any  gossip  concerning 
him  must  ever  fall  short  of  the  real  truth.  Enough,  then, 
that  it  meant,  if  Jacob  Delafield  could  see  in  my  future  any 
promises  of  success  sufficient  to  warrant  him  in  accepting 
me  as  his  son-in-la\v,  no  woman  living  ought  to  hesitate  to 
trust  me  with  her  hand.  He  was  the  Squire  of  the  town, 
and  as  such  entitled  to  respect,  but  he  was  also  something 
more,  as  you  will  presently  discover.  His  answer  to  my 
plea  was : 

"  '  Well,  how  much  money  have  you  to  show  ?  ' 

"  Now  I  had  none.  My  salary  as  cashier  of  a  small  coun- 
try bank  was  not  large,  and  my  brother's  prolonged  sickness 
and  subsequent  death,  together  with  my  own  somewhat  lux- 
urious habits,  had  utterly  exhausted  it.  I  told  him  so,  but 
added  that  I  had,  somewhere  up  among  the  hills,  an  old 
maiden  aunt  who  had  promised  me  five  thousand  dollars  at 
her  death  ;  and  that  as  she  was  very  ill  at  that  time — hope- 
lessly so,  her  neighbors  thought — in  a  few  weeks  I  should 
doubtless  be  able  to  satisfy  him  with  the  sight  of  a  sum 
sufficient  to  start  us  in  housekeeping,  if  no  more. 

"  He  nodded  at  this,  but  gave  me  no  distinct  reply.  '  Let 
us  wait/  said  he. 

"  But  youth  is  not  inclined  to  wait.  I  considered  my 
cause  as  good  as  won,  and  began  to  make  all  my  prepara- 
tions accordingly.  With  a  feverish  impatience  which  is  no 
sign  of  true  love,  I  watched  the  days  go  by,  and  waited  for, 
if  I  did  not  anticipate,  the  death  which  I  fondly  imagined 


44-6  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

would  make  all  clear.  At  last  it  came,  and  I  went  again 
into  Mr.  Delafield's  presence. 

"  '  My  aunt  has  just  died,'  I  announced,  and  stood  wait- 
ing for  the  short,  concise, 

"  '  Go  ahead,  then,  my  boy  ! '  which  I  certainly  expected. 

"  Instead  of  that,  he  gave  me  a  queer  inexplicable  smile, 
and  merely  said,  '  I  want  to  see  the  greenbacks,  my  lad. 
No  color  so  good  as  green,  not  even  the  black  upon  white 
of  '  I  promise  to  pay.' 

"  I  went  back  to  my  desk  in  the  bank,  chagrined.  Ona 
had  told  me  a  few  days  before  that  she  was  tired  of  waiting, 
that  the  young  doctor  from  the  next  town  was  very  assidu- 
ous in  his  attentions,  and  as  there  was  no  question  as  to  his 
ability  to  support  a  wife,  why — she  did  not  finish  her  sen- 
tence, but  the  toss  of  her  head  and  her  careless  tone  at 
parting,  were  enough  to  inflame  the  jealousy  of  a  less  easily 
aroused  nature  than  mine.  I  felt  that  I  was  in  hourly  dan- 
ger of  losing  her,  and  all  because  I  could  not  satisfy  her 
father  with  a  sight  of  the  few  thousands  which  were  so  soon 
to  be  mine. 

"The  reading  of  my  aunt's  will,  which  confirmed  my 
hopes,  did  not  greatly  improve  matters.  '  I  want  to  see  the 
money,'  the  old  gentleman  repeated  ;  and  I  was  forced  to  wait 
the  action  of  the  law  and  the  settlement  of  the  estate.  It 
took  longer  than  even  he  foresaw.  Weeks  went  by  and  my 
poor  little  five  thousand  seemed  as  far  from  my  control  as  on 
the  day  the  will  was  read.  There  was  some  trouble,  I  was  not 
told  what,  that  made  it  seem  improbable  that  I  should  reap 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  447 

the  benefit  of  my  legacy  for  some  time.  Meanwhile  Ona 
accepted  the  attentions  of  the  young  doctor,  and  my  chances 
of  winning  her,  dwindled  rapidly  day  by  day.  I  became 
morbidly  eager  and  insanely  jealous.  Instead  of  pursuing 
my  advantage — for  I  undoubtedly  possessed  one  in  her  own 
secret  inclination  towards  me — I  stood  off,  and  let  my  rival 
work  his  way  into  her  affections  unhindered.  I  was  too  sore 
to  interrupt  his  play,  as  I  called  it,  and  too  afraid  of  myself 
to  actually  confront  him  in  her  presence.  But  the  sight  of 
them  riding  together  one  day,  was  more  than  I  could  endure 
even  in  my  spirit  of  unresistance.  '  He  shall  not  have  her,' 
I  cried,  and  cast  about  in  my  mind  how  to  bring  my  own 
matters  into  such  shape  as  to  satisfy  her  father  and  so  win 
her  own  consent  to  my  suit.  My  first  thought  was  to  borrow 
the  money,  but  that  was  impracticable  in  a  town  where  each 
man's  affairs  are  known  to  his  neighbor.  My  next  was  to 
hurry  up  the  settlement  of  the  estate  by  appeal  to  my  law- 
yer. The  result  of  the  latter  course  was  a  letter  of  many 
promises,  in  the  midst  of  which  a  great  temptation  assailed 
me. 

"  Colonel  Japha,  of  whose  history  you  have  heard  more 
or  less  true  accounts,  was  at  that  time  living  in  the  old 
mansion  you  took  such  pains  to  point  out  to  me  in  that  walk 
we  took  together  in  Grotewell.  He  had  suffered  a  great  an- 
guish in  the  flight  and  degradation  of  his  only  daughter,  and 
though  the  real  facts  connected  with  her  departure  were  not 
known  in  the  village,  he  was  so  overcome  with  shame,  and  so 
shattered  in  health,  he  lived  in  the  utmost  seclusion,  opening 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

his  doors  to  but  few  visitors,  among  whom  I,  for  some  unex- 
plained reason,  was  one.  He  used  to  say  he  liked  me  and 
saw  in  me  the  makings  of  a  considerable  man  ;  and  I,  because 
he  was  Colonel  Japha  and  a  strong  spirit,  returned  his  ap- 
preciation, and  spent  many  of  my  bitter  and  unhappy  hours 
in  his  presence.  It  was  upon  one  of  these  occasions  the 
temptation  came  to  which  I  have  just  alluded. 

"  I  had  been  talking  about  his  health  and  the  advisability 
of  his  taking  a  journey,  when  he  suddenly  rose  and  said, 
'  Com-e  with  me  to  my  study.' 

"  I  of  course  went.  The  first  thing  I  saw  upon  entering 
was  a  trunk  locked  and  strapped.  '  I  am  going  to  Europe 
to-morrow,'  said  he,  '  to  be  gone  six  months.' 

"  I  was  astonished,  for  in  that  town  no  one  presumed  to 
do  anything  of  importance  without  consulting  his  neighbors; 
but  I  merely  bowed  my  congratulations,  and  waited  for  him 
to  speak,  for  I  saw  he  had  something  on  his  mind  that  he 
wished  to  say.  At  last  it  came  out.  He  had  a  daughter,  he 
said,  a  daughter  who  had  disgraced  him  and  whom  he  had 
forbidden  his  house.  She  was  not  worthy  of  his  considera- 
tion, yet  he  could  not  help  but  remember  her,  and  while  he 
never  desired  to  see  her  enter  his  doors,  it  was  not  his  wish 
that  she  should  suffer  want.  He  had  a  little  money  which 
he  had  laid  by  and  which  he  wished  to  put  into  my  hands 
for  her  use,  provided  anything  should  happen  to  him  during 
his  absence.  'She  is  a  wanderer  now,'  he  cried,  'but  she 
may  one  day  come  back,  and  then  if  I  am  dead  and  gone, 
you  may  give  it  to  her.'  I  was  not  to  enter  it  in  the  bank 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  449 

under  his  name,  but  regard  it  as  a  personal  trust  to  be  used 
only  under  such  circumstances  as  he  mentioned. 

"  The  joy  with  which  I  listened  to  this  proposal 
amounted  almost  to  ecstacy  when  he  went  to  his  desk  and 
brought  out  five  one  thousand  dollar  bills  and  laid  them  in 
my  hand.  '  It  is  not  much,'  said  he,  '  but  it  will  save  her 
from  worse  degradation  if  she  chooses  to  avail  herself  of  it.' 

"  Not  much  ;  oh  no,  not  much,  but  just  the  sum  that 
would  raise  me  out  of  the  pit  of  despondency  into  which  I 
had  fallen,  and  give  me  my  bride,  a  chance  in  the  world,  and 
last,  but  not  least,  revenge  on  the  rival  I  had  now  learned  to 
hate.  I  was  obliged  to  give  the  colonel  a  paper  acknowl- 
edging the  trust,  but  that  was  no  hindrance.  I  did  not 
mean  to  use  the  money,  only  to  show  it ;  and  long  before 
the  colonel  could  return,  my  own  five  thousand  would  be  in 
my  hands — and  so,  and  so,  and  so,  as  the  devil  reasons  and 
young  infatuated  ears  listen. 

"  Colonel  Japha  thought  I  was  an  honest  man,  nor  did  I 
consider  myself  otherwise  at  that  time.  It  was  a  chance  for 
clever  action  ;  a  bit  of  opportune  luck  that  it  would  be  mad- 
ness to  discard.  On  the  day  the  vessel  sailed  which  carried 
Colonel  Japha  out  of  the  country,  I  went  to  Mr.  Delafield 
and  showed  him  the  five  crisp  bank  notes  that  represented 
as  it  were  by  proxy,  the  fortune  I  so  speedily  expected  to 
inherit.  '  You  have  wanted  to  see  five  thousand  dollars 
in  my  hand,"  said  I  ;  '  there  they  are.' 

"  His  look  of  amazement  was  peculiar  and  ought  to  have 
given  me  warning ;  but  I  was  blinded  by  my  infatuation  and 


45°  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

thought  it  no  more  than  the  natural  surprise  incident  to  the 
occasion.  '  I  have  been  made  to  wait  a  long  time  for  your 
consent  to  my  suit,'  said  I  ;  '  may  I  hope  that  you  will  now 
give  me  leave  to  press  my  claims  upon  your  daughter  ? ' 

"  He  did  not  answer  at  once,  but  smiled,  eying  mean- 
while the  notes  in  my  hand  with  a  fascinated  gaze  which  in- 
stinctively warned  me  to  return  them  to  my  pocket.  But  I 
no  sooner  made  a  move  indicative  of  that  resolve,  than  he 
thrust  out  his  cold  slim  hand  and  prevented  me.  '  Let  me 
see  them,'  cried  he. 

"  There  was  no  reason  for  me  to  refuse  so  simple  a  re- 
quest to  one  in  Mr.  Delafield's  position,  and  though  I  had 
rather  he  had  not  asked  for  the  notes,  I  handed  them  over. 
He  at  once  seemed  to  grow  taller.  '  So  this  is  your  start  off 
in  life,'  exclaimed  he. 

"  I  bowed,  and  he  let  his  eyes  roam  for  a  moment  to  my 
face.  '  Many  a  man  would  be  glad  of  worse,'  smiled  he  ; 
then  suavely,  '  you  shall  have  my  daughter,  sir.' 

"  I  must  have  turned  white  in  my  relief,  for  he  threw  his 
head  back  and  laughed  in  a  low  unmusical  way  that  at  any 
other  time  would  have  affected  me  unpleasantly.  But  my 
only  thought  then,  was  to  get  the  money  back  and  rush  with 
my  new  hopes  into  the  room  from  which  came  the  low  cease- 
less hum  of  his  daughter's  voice.  But  at  the  first  movement 
of  my  hand  towards  him,  he  assumed  a  mysterious  air,  and 
closing  his  fingers  over  the  notes,  said  : 

"  *  These  are  yours,  to  do  what  you  wish  with,  I  sup- 
pose ?  ' 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  451 

"  I  may  have  blushed,  but  if  I  did,  he  took  no  notice. 
*  What  I  wish  to  do  with  them,'  returned  I,  '  is  to  shut  them 
up  in  the  bank  for  the  present,  at  least  till  Ona  is  my  wife.' 

"  '  Oh  no,  no,  no,  you  do  not,'  came  in  easy,  almost 
wheedling  tones  from  the  man  before  me.  'You  want  to 
put  them  where  they  will  double  themselves  in  two  months.' 
And  before  I  could  realize  to  what  he  was  tempting  me,  he 
had  me  down  before  his  desk,  showing  me  letters,  docu- 
ments, etc.,  of  a  certain  scheme  into  which  if  a  man  should 
put  a  dollar  to-day,  it  would  '  come  out  three  and  no  mis- 
take, before  the  year  was  out.  It  is  a  chance  in  a  thou- 
sand, 'said  he ;  '  if  I  had  half  a  million  I  would  invest  it  in  this 
enterprise  to-day.  If  you  will  listen  to  me  and  put  your 
money  in  there,  you  will  be  a  rich  man  before  ten  years 
have  passed  over  your  head.' 

"  I  was  dazzled.  I  knew  enough  of  such  matters  to  see 
that  it  was  neither  a  hoax  nor  a  chimera.  He  did  have  a 
good  thing,  and  if  the  five  thousand  dollars  had  been  my 
own — But  I  soon  came  to  consider  the  question  without  that 
conditional.  He  was  so  specious  in  his  manner  of  putting 
the  affair  before  me,  so  masterful  in  the  way  he  held  on  to 
the  money,  he  gave  me  no  time  to  think.  '  Say  the  word,' 
cried  he,  '  and  in  two  months  I  bring  you  back  ten  thousand 
for  your  five.  Only  two  months,'  he  repeated,  and  then 
slowly/  Ona  was  born  for  luxury.' 

"  Paula,  you  cannot  realize  what  that  temptation  was. 
To  amass  wealth  had  never  been  my  ambition  before,  but 
now  everything  seemed  to  urge  it  upon  me.  Dreams  of  un- 


452  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

imagined  luxury  came  to  my  mind  as  these  words  were 
uttered.  A  vision  of  Ona  clad  in  garments  worthy  of  her 
beauty  floated  before  my  eyes  ;  the  humble  home  I  had 
hitherto  pictured  for  myself,  broadened  and  towered  away 
into  a  palace ;  I  beheld  myself  honored  and  accepted  as  the 
nabob  of  the  town.  I  caught  a  glimpse  of  a  new  paradise, 
and  hesitated  to  shut  down  the  gate  upon  it.  '  I  will  think 
of  it,'  said  I,  and  went  into  the  other  room  to  speak  to  Ona. 

"  Ah,  if  some  angel  had  met  me  on  the  threshold  !  If  my 
mother's  spirit  or  the  thought  of  your  dear  face  could  have 
risen  before  me  then  and  stopped  me  !  Dizzy,  intoxicated 
with  love  and  ambition,  I  crossed  the  room  to  where  she  sat 
reeling  off  a  skein  of  blue  silk  with  hands  that  were  whiter 
than  alabaster.  Kneeling  down  by  her  side,  I  caught  those 
fair  hands  in  mine. 

"  '  Ona,'  I  cried,  '  will  you  marry  me  ?  Your  father  has 
given  his  consent,  and  we  shall  be  very  happy.' 

"  She  bestowed  upon  me  a  little  pout,  and  half  mock- 
ingly, half  earnestly  inquired,  '  What  kind  of  a  house  are 
you  going  to  put  me  in  ?  I  cannot  live  in  a  cottage.' 

"'I  will  put  you  in  a  palace,'  I  whispered,  'if  you  will 
only  say  that  you  will  be  mine.' 

" '  A  palace  !  Oh,  I  don't  expect  palaces ;  a  house  like 
the  Japhas'  would  do.  Not  but  what  I  should  feel  at  home 
in  a  palace,'  she  added,  lifting  her  lordly  head  and  looking 
beautiful  enough  to  grace  a  sceptre.  Then,  archly  for  her, 
'  And  papa  has  given  his  consent  ? ' 

"  '  Yes,'  I  ardently  cried. 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  453 

" '  Then  Dr.  Burton  might  as  well  go,'  she  answered.  '  I 
will  trust  my  father's  judgment,  and  take  the  palace — when 
it  comes.' 

"  After  that,  it  was  impossible  to  disappoint  her. 

"  Paula,  in  stating  all  this,  I  have  purposely  confined 
myself  to  relating  bare  facts.  You  must  see  us  as  we  were. 
The  glamour  which  an  unreasoning  passion  casts  over  even 
a  dishonest  act,  if  performed  for  the  sake  of  winning  a 
beautiful  woman,  is  no  excuse  in  my  own  soul  for  the  evil 
to  which  I  succumbed  that  day,  nor  shall  it  seem  so  to  you. 
Bare,  hard,  stern,  the  fact  confronts  me  from  the  past,  that  at 
the  first  call  of  temptation  I  fell ;  and  with  this  blot  on  my 
character,  you  will  have  to  consider  me — unhappy  being  that 
I  am  ! 

"  I  did  not  realize  then,  however,  all  that  I  had  done. 
The  operation  entered  into  by  Mr.  Delafield  prospered,  and 
in  two  months  I  had,  as  he  predicted,  ten  thousand  dollars 
instead  of  five,  in  my  possession.  Besides,  I  had  just  mar- 
ried Ona,  and  for  awhile  life  was  a  dream  of  delight  and 
luxury.  But  there  came  a  day  when  I  awoke  to  an  insight 
of  the  peril  I  had  escaped  by  a  mere  chance  of  the  die. 
The  money  which  I  had  expected  from  my  aunt's  will,  turned 
out  to  be  amongst  certain  funds  that  had  been  risked  in 
speculation  by  some  agent  during  her  sickness,  and  irrecov- 
erably lost.  The  expression  of  her  good-will  was  all  that 
ever  came  to  me  of  the  legacy  upon  which  I  had  so  confi- 
dently relied. 

"  I  was  sitting  with  my  young  wife  in  the  pretty  parlor 


454  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

of  our  new  home,  when  the  letter  came  from  my  lawyer  an- 
nouncing thrs  fact,  and  I  never  can  make  you  understand 
what  effect  it  had  upon  me.  The  very  walls  seemed  to 
shrivel  up  into  the  dimensions  of  a  prison's  cell  ;  the  face 
that  only  an  hour  before  had  possessed  every  conceivable 
charm  for  me,  shone  on  my  changed  vision  with  the  allure- 
ment, but  also  with  the  unreality  of  a  will-o'-the-wisp.  All 
that  might  have  happened  if  the  luck,  instead  of  being  in  my 
favor,  had  turned  against  me,  crushed  like  a  thunderbolt 
upon  my  head,  and  I  rose  up  and  left  the  presence  of  my 
young  wife,  with  the  knowledge  at  my  heart  that  I  was  no 
more  nor  less  than  a  thief  in  the  eyes  of  God,  if  not  in  that 
of  my  fellow-men  ;  a  base  thief,  who  if  he  did  not  meet  his 
fit  punishment,  was  only  saved  from  it  by  fortuitous  cir- 
cumstances and  the  ignorance  of  those  he  had  been  so 
near  despoiling. 

"  The  bitterness  of  that  hour  never  passed  away.  The 
streets  in  which  I  had  been  raised,  the  house  which  had 
been  the  scene  of  my  temptation,  Mr.  Delafield's  face,  and 
my  own  home,  all  became  unendurable  to  me.  I  felt  as  if 
each  man  I  met  must  know  what  I  had  done ;  and  secret  as 
the  transaction  had  been,  it  was  long  before  I  could  enter 
the  bank  without  a  tremor  of  apprehension  lest  I  should  hear 
from  some  quarter,  that  my  services  there  would  no  longer 
be  required.  The  only  comfort  I  received  was  in  the 
thought  that  Ona  did  not  know  at  what  a  cost  her  hand  had 
been  obtained.  I  was  still  under  the  glamour  of  her  languid 
smiles  and  countless  graces,  and  was  fain  to  believe  that  not- 


FROM  A.  TO   Z.  455 

withstanding  a  certain  unresponsiveness  and  coldness  in  her 
nature,  her  love  would  yet  prove  a  compensation  for  the  re- 
morse that  I  secretly  suffered. 

"  My  distaste  for  Grotewell  culminated.  It  was  too  small 
for  me.  The  money  I  had  acquired  through  the  use  of  my 
neighbor's  funds  burned  in  my  pocket.  I  determined  to 
move  to  New  York,  and  with  the  few  thousands  I  possessed, 
venture  upon  other  speculations.  But  this  time  in  all  hon- 
esty. Yes,  I  swore  it  before  God  and  my  own  soul,  that 
never  again  would  I  run  a  risk  similar  to  that  from  which  I 
had  just  escaped.  I  would  profit  by  the  money  I  had  ac- 
quired, oh  yes,  but  henceforth  all  my  operations  should  be 
legitimate  and  honorable.  My  wife,  who  was  fast  developing 
a  taste  for  ease  and  splendor,  seconded  my  plans  with  some- 
thing like  fervor,  while  Mr.  Delafield  actually  went  so  far  as 
to  urge  my  departure.  '  You  are  bound  to  make  a  rich  man,' 
said  he  '  and  must  go  where  great  fortunes  are  to  be  secured.' 
He  never  asked  me  what  became  of  the  five  thousand  dollars 
I  returned  to  Colonel  Japha  upon  his  arrival  from  Europe. 

"  So  I  came  to  New  York. 

"  Paula,  the  man  who  loses  at  the  outset  of  a  doubtful 
game,  is  fortunate.  I  did  not  lose,  I  won.  As  if  in  that  first 
dishonest  deed  of  mine  I  had  summoned  to  my  side  the  aid 
of  evil  influences,  each  and  every  operation  into  which  I 
entered  prospered.  It  seemed  as  if  I  could  not  make  a  mis- 
take ;  money  flowed  towards  me  from  all  quarters ;  power 
followed,  and  I  found  myself  one  of  the  most  successful  and 
one  of  the  most  unhappy  men  in  New  York.  There  are 


456  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

some  things  of  which  a  man  cannot  write  even  to  the  one 
dear  heart  he  most  cherishes  and  adores.  You  have  lived  in 
my  home,  and  will  acquit  me  from  saying  much  about  her 
who,  with  all  her  faults  and  her  omissions,  was  ever  kind  to 
you.  But  some  things  I  must  repeat  in  order  to  make  in- 
telligible to  you  the  change  which  gradually  took  place  with- 
in me  as  the  years  advanced.  Beauty,  while  it  wins  the  lover, 
can  never  of  itself  hold  the  heart  of  a  husband  who  possesses 
aspirations  beyond  that  which  passion  supplies.  Reckless, 
worldly  and  narrow-minded  as  I  had  been  before  the  com- 
mission of  that  deed  which  embittered  my  life,  I  had  become 
by  the  very  shock  that  followed  the  realization  of  my  wrong- 
doing, a  hungry-hearted,  eager-minded  and  melancholy-spir- 
ited man,  asking  but  one  boon  in  recompense  for  my  secret 
remorse,  and  that  was  domestic  happiness  and  the  sympa- 
thetic affection  of  wife  and  children.  Woman,  according  to 
my  belief,  was  born  to  be  chiefly  and  above  all,  the  consoler. 
What  a  man  missed  in  the  outside  world,  he  was  to  find 
treasured  at  home.  What  a  man  lacked  in  his  own  nature, 
he  was  to  discover  in  the  delicate  and  sublimated  one  of  his 
wife.  Beautiful  dream,  which  my  life  was  not  destined  to 
see  realized ! 

"  The  birth  of  my  only  child  was  my  first  great  consola- 
tion. With  the  opening  of  her  blue  eyes  upon  my  face,  a 
well-spring  deep  as  my  unfathomable  longing,  bubbled  up 
within  my  breast.  Alas,  that  very  consolation  brought  a 
hideous  grief ;  the  mother  did  not  love  her  child  ;  and 
another  strand  of  the  regard  with  which  I  still  endeavored 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  457 

to  surround  the  wife  of  my  youth,  parted  and  floated  away 
out  of  sight.  To  take  my  little  one  in  my  arms,  to  feel  her 
delicate  cheek  press  yearningly  to  mine,  to  behold  her  sweet 
infantile  soul  develop  itself  before  my  eyes,  and  yet  to  real- 
ize that  that  soul  would  never  know  the  guidance  or  sympa- 
thy of  a  mother,  was  to  me  at  once  rapture  and  anguish.  I 
sometimes  forgot  to  follow  up  a  fortunate  speculation,  in  my 
indulgence  of  these  feelings.  I  was  passionately  the  father 
as  I  might  have  been  passionately  the  husband  and  the 
friend.  Geraldine  died  ;  how  and  with  what  attendant  cir- 
cumstances of  pain  and  regret,  I  will  not,  dare  not  state. 
The  blow  struck  to  the  core  of  my  being.  I  stood  shaken 
before  God.  The  past,  with  its  one  grim  remembrance — a 
remembrance  that  in  the  tide  of  business  successes  and  the 
engrossing  affection  which  had  of  late  absorbed  me,  had  been 
well-nigh  swamped  from  sight — rose  before  me  like  an  ac- 
cusing spirit.  I  had  sinned,  and  I  had  been  punished  ;  I 
had  sown,  and  I  had  reaped. 

"  More  than  that,  I  was  sinning  still.  My  very  enjoyment 
of  the  position  I  had  so  doubtfully  acquired,  was  unworthy 
of  me.  My  very  wealth  was  a  disgrace.  Had  it  not  all  been 
built  upon  another  man's  means  ?  Could  the  very  house  I 
lived  in  be  said  to  be  my  own,  while  a  Japha  existed  in 
want  ?  In  the  eyes  of  the  world,  perhaps,  yes  ;  in  my  own 
eyes,  no.  I  became  morbid  on  the  subject.  I  asked  myself 
what  I  could  do  to  escape  the  sense  of  obligation  that  over- 
whelmed me.  The  few  sums  with  which  I  had  been  secretly 
enabled  to  provide  Colonel  Japha  during  the  final  days  of 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

his  ruined  and  impoverished  life,  were  not  sufficient.  I 
desired  to  wipe  out  the  past  by  some  large  and  munificent 
return.  Had  the  colonel  been  living,  I  should  have  gone  to 
r.  im,  told  him  my  tale  and  offered  him  the  half  of  my  for- 
tune; but  his  death  cut  off  all  hopes  of  my  righting  myself 
in  that  way.  Only  his  daughter  remained,  the  poor,  lost, 
reprobated  being,  whom  he  was  willing  to  curse,  but  whom 
he  could  not  bear  to  believe  suffering.  I  determined  that 
the  debt  due  to  my  own  peace  of  mind  should  be  paid  to 
her.  But  how  ?  Where  was  I  to  find  this  wanderer  ?  How 
was  I  to  let  her  know  that  a  comfortable  living  awaited  her 
if  she  would  only  return  to  her  friends  and  home  ?  Consult- 
ing with  a  business  associate,  he  advised  me  to  advertise.  I 
did  so,  but  without  success.  I  next  resorted  to  the  detec- 
tives, but  all  without  avail.  Jacqueline  Japha  was  not  to  be 
found. 

"  But  I  did  not  relinquish  my  resolve.  Deliberately  in- 
vesting a  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  Government  bonds,  I 
put  them  aside  for  her.  They  were  to  be  no  longer  mine. 
I  gave  them  to  her  and  to  her  heirs  as  completely  and  irre- 
vocably, I  believed,  as  if  I  had  laid  them  in  her  hand  and 
seen  her  depart  with  them.  I  even  inserted  them  as  a  legacy 
to  her  in  my  will.  It  was  a  clear  and  definite  arrangement 
between  me  and  my  own  soul  ;  and  after  I  had  made  it  and 
given  orders  to  my  lawyer  in  Grotewell  to  acquaint  me  if  he 
ever  received  the  least  news  of  Jacqueline  Japha,  I  slept  in 
peace. 

"  Of  the  years  that  followed  I  have  small  need  to  speak. 


FROM  A.  TO  Z.  459 

They  were  the  years  that  preceded  your  coming,  my  Paula, 
and  their  story  is  best  told  by  what  I  was  when  we  met 
again,  and  you  made  me  know  the  sweet  things  of  life  by  en- 
tering into  my  home.  Woman  as  a  thoughtful,  tender,  ele- 
vated being  had  been  so  long  unknown  to  me  !  The  beauty 
of  the  feminine  soul  with  its  faith  fixed  upon  high  ideals,  was 
one  before  which  I  had  ever  been  ready  to  bow.  All  that  I 
had  missed  in  my  youth,  all  that  had  failed  me  in  my  matur- 
ing manhood,  seemed  to  flow  back  upon  me  like  a  river.  I 
bathed  in  the  sunshine  of  your  pure  spirit  and  imagined  that 
the  evil  days  were  over  and  peace  come  at  last. 

"  A  rude  and  bitter  shock  awoke  me.  Ona's  father,  who 
had  followed  us  to  New  York,  and  of  whose  somewhat 
checkered  career  during  the  past  few  years,  I  have  purposely 
forborne  to  speak,  had  not  been  above  appealing  to  us  for 
assistance  at  such  times  as  his  frequently  unfortunate  invest- 
ments left  him  in  a  state  of  necessity.  These  appeals  were 
usually  made  to  Ona,  and  in  a  quiet  way  ;  but  one  day  he 
met  me  on  the  street — it  was  during  the  second  winter  you 
spent  in  my  home — and  dragging  me  into  a  restaurant  down 
town,  began  a  long  tale,  to  the  effect  that  he  wanted  a  few 
thousands  from  me  to  put  into  a  certain  investment,  which 
if  somewhat  shady  in  its  character,  was  very  promising  as  to 
its  results  ;  and  gave  as  a  reason  why  he  applied  to  me  for 
the  money,  that  he  knew  I  had  not  been  above  doing  a 
wrongful  act  once,  in  order  to  compass  my  ends,  and  there- 
fore would  not  be  liable  to  hesitate  now. 

"  It  was  the  thunderbolt  of  my  life.     My  sin  was  not 


4^0  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

then  buried.  It  had  been  known  to  this  man  from  the  start. 
With  an  insight  for  which  I  had  never  given  him  credit,  he 
had  read  my  countenance  in  the  days  of  my  early  temptation, 
and  guessed,  if  he  did  not  know,  where  the  five  thousand 
dollars  came  from  with  which  I  began  my  career  as  specu- 
lator. Worse  than  that,  he  had  led  me  on  to  the  act  by  which 
he  now  sought  to  hold  me.  Having  been  the  secret  agent 
in  losing  my  aunt's  money,  he  knew  at  the  time  that  I  was 
cherishing  empty  hopes  as  regarded  a  legacy  from  her,  yet 
he  let  me  dally  with  my  expectations,  and  ensnare  myself 
with  his  daughter's  fascinations,  till  driven  mad  by  disap- 
pointment and  longing,  I  was  ready  to  resort  to  any  means 
to  gain  my  purpose.  It  was  a  frightful  revelation  to  come 
to  me  in  days  when,  if  I  were  not  a  thoroughly  honest  man, 
I  had  at  least  acquired  a  deep  and  ineradicable  dread  of 
dishonor.  Answering  him  I  know  not  how,  but  in  a  way 
that  while  it  repudiated  his  proposition,  unfortunately  ac- 
knowledged the  truth  of  the  suppositions  upon  which  it  was 
founded,  I  left  him  and  went  home,  a  crushed  and  disheart- 
ened man.  Life  which  had  been  so  long  in  acquiring 
cheerful  hues,  was  sunk  again  in  darkness  ;  and  for  days  I 
could  not  bear  the  sight  of  your  innocent  face,  or  the  sound 
of  your  pure  voice,  or  the  tokens  of  your  tender  and  unsus- 
pecting presence  in  my  home.  But  soon  the  very  natural 
thought  came  to  comfort  me,  that  the  sin  I  so  deplored  was 
as  much  dead  now,  as  it  was  before  I  learned  the  fact  of  this 
man's  knowledge  of  it.  That  having  repented  and  put  it 
away,  I  was  as  free  to  accept  your  gentle  offices  and  the 


FROM  A.    TO  Z,  461 

regard  of  all  true  men,  as  ever  I  had  been ;  and  beguiled  by 
this  plausible  consideration,  I  turned  again  to  my  one  visible 
source  of  consolation,  and  in  the  diversion  it  offered,  let  the 
remembrance  of  this  last  bitter  experience  pass  slowly  from 
my  mind.  The  fact  that  Mr.  Delafield  left  town  shortly  after 
his  interview  with  me,  and  smitten  by  shame  perhaps,  for- 
bore to  acquaint  us  with  his  whereabouts  or  afflict  us  with 
his  letters,  may  have  aided  me  in  this  strange  forgetful- 
ness. 

"  But  other  and  sharper  trials  were  in  store  ;  trials  that 
were  to  test  me  as  a  man,  and  as  it  proved,  find  me  lacking 
just  where  I  thought  I  was  strongest.  Paula,  that  saying  of 
the  Bible,  '  Let  him  that  thinketh  he  standeth  take  heed  lest 
he  fall,'  might  have  been  written  over  the  door  of  my  house 
on  that  day,  ten  months  ago,  when  we  two  stood  by  the 
hearthstone  and  talked  of  the  temptations  that  beset  hu- 
manity, and  the  charity  we  should  show  to  such  as  succumb 
to  them.  Before  the  day  had  waned,  my  own  hour  had 
come ;  and  not  all  the  experience  of  my  life,  not  all  the 
resolves,  hopes,  fears  of  my  later  years,  not  even  the  remem- 
brance of  your  sweet  trust  and  your  natural  recoil  from  evil, 
were  sufficient  to  save  me.  The  blow  came  so  suddenly  ! 
the  call  for  action  was  so  peremptory  !  One  moment  I  stood 
before  the  world,  rich,  powerful,  honored,  and  beloved  ;  the 
next,  I  saw  myself  threatened  with  a  loss  that  undermined 
my  whole  position,  and  with  it  the  very  consideration  that 
made  me  what  I  was.  But  I  must  explain. 

"  When  I  entered  the  Madison  Bank  as  President,  I  gave 


462  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

up  in  deference  to  the  wishes  of  Mr.  Stuyvesant  all  open 
speculation  in  Wall  Street.  But  a  wife  and  home  such  as  I 
then  had,  are  not  to  be  supported  on  any  petty  income ;  and 
when  shortly  after  your  entrance  into  my  home,  the  op- 
portunity presented  itself  of  investing  in  a  particularly  prom- 
ising silver  mine  out  West,  I  could  not  resist  the  temptation  ; 
regarding  the  affair  as  legitimate,  and  the  hazard,  if  such  it 
were,  one  that  I  was  amply  able  to  bear.  But  like  most  en- 
terprises of  the  kind,  one  dollar  drew  another  after  it,  and  I 
soon  found  that  to  make  available  what  I  had  already  in- 
vested, I  was  obliged  to  add  to  it  more  and  more  of  my  avail- 
able funds,  until — to  make  myself  as  intelligible  to  you  as  I 
can — it  had  absorbed  not  only  all  that  had  remained  to  me 
after  my  somewhat  liberal  purchase  of  the  Madison  Bank 
stock,  but  all  I  could  raise  on  a  pledge  of  the  stock  itself. 
But  there  was  nothing  in  this  to  alarm  me.  I  had  a  man  at 
the  mine  devoted  to  my  interests  ;  and  as  the  present  yield 
was  excellent,  and  the  future  of  more  promise  still,  I  went  on 
my  way  with  no  special  anxiety.  But  who  can  trust  a  silver 
mine  ?  At  the  very  point  where  we  expected  the  greatest 
result,  the  vein  suddenly  gave  out,  and  nothing  prevented 
the  stock  from  falling  utterly  flat  on  the  market,  but  the  dis- 
cretion of  my  agent,  who  kept  the  fact  a  secret,  while  he 
quietly  went  about  getting  another  portion  of  the  mine  into 
working  order.  .  He  was  fast  succeeding  in  this,  and  affairs 
were  looking  daily  more  promising,  when  suddenly  an  in- 
timation received  by  me  in  a  bit  of  conversation  casually 
overheard  at  that  reception  we  attended  together,  convinced 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  463 

me  that  the  secret  was  transpiring,  and  that  if  great  care 
were  not  taken,  we  should  be  swamped  before  we  could 
get  things  into  working  trim  again.  Filled  with  this  anxiety, 
I  was  about  to  leave  the  building,  in  order  to  telegraph  to 
my  agent,  when  to  my  great  surprise  the  card  of  that  very 
person  was  brought  in  to  me,  together  with  a  request  for  an 
immediate  interview.  You  remember  it,  Paula,  and  how  I 
went  out  to  see  him  ;  but  what  you  did  not  know  then,  and 
what  I  find  some  difficulty  in  relating  now,  is  that  his  mes- 
sage to  me  was  one  of  total  ruin  unless  I  could  manage  to 
give  into  his  hand,  for  immediate  use,  the  sum  of  a  hundred 
thousand  dollars. 

"  The  facts  making  this  demand  necessary  were  not  what 
you  may  have  been  led  to  expect.  They  had  little  or  noth- 
ing to  do  with  the  new  operations,  which  were  progressing 
successfully  and  with  every  promise  of  an  immediate  return, 
but  arose  entirely  out  of  a  law-suit  then  in  the  hands  of  a 
Colorado  judge  for  decision,  and  which,  though  it  involved 
well-nigh  the  whole  interest  of  the  mine,  had  never  till  this 
hour  given  me  the  least  uneasiness,  my  lawyers  having  always 
assured  me  of  my  ultimate  success.  But  it  seems  that  not- 
withstanding all  this,  the  decision  was  to  be  rendered  in 
favor  of  the  other  party.  My  agent,  who  was  a  man  to  be 
trusted  in  these  matters,  averred  that  five  days  before,  he 
had  learned  from  most  authentic  sources  what  the  decision 
was  likely  to  be.  That  the  judge's  opinion  had  been  seen — 
he  did  not  tell  me  how,  he  dared  not,  nor  did  I  presume  to 
question,  but  I  have  since  learned  that  not  only  had  the 


464  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

copyist  employed  by  the  judge  turned  traitor,  but  that  my 
own  agent  had  been  anything  but  scrupulous  in  the  use  he 
had  made  of  a  willing  and  corruptible  instrument — and  that 
if  I  wanted  to  save  myself  and  the  others  connected  with  me 
from  total  and  irremediable  loss,  I  must  compromise  with 
the  other  parties  at  once,  who  not  being  advised  of  the  true 
state  of  affairs,  and  having  but  little  faith  in  their  own  case, 
had  long  ago  expressed  their  willingness  to  accept  the  sum 
of  a  hundred  thousand  dollars  as  a  final  settlement  of  the 
controversy.  My  agent,  if  none  too  nice  in  his  ideas  of  right 
and  wrong,  was,  as  I  have  intimated,  not  the  man  to  make  a 
mistake  ;  and  when  to  my  question  as  to  how  long  a  time  he 
would  give  me  to  look  around  among  my  friends  and  raise 
the  required  sum,  he  replied,  '  Ten  hours  and  no  more,'  I 
realized  my  position,  and  the  urgent  necessity  for  immediate 
action. 

"  The  remainder  of  the  night  is  a  dream  to  me.  There 
was  but  one  source  from  which  I  could  hope  in  the  present 
condition  of  my  affairs,  to  procure  a  hundred  thousand  dol- 
lars ;  and  that  was  from  the  box  where  I  had  stowed  away 
the  bonds  destined  for  the  use  of  the  Japha  heirs.  To  bor- 
row was  impossible,  even  if  I  had  been  in  possession  of 
proper  securities  to  give.  I  was  considered  as  having  relin- 
quished speculation  and  dared  not  risk  the  friendship  of  Mr. 
Stuyvesant  by  a  public  betrayal  of  my  necessity.  The  Japha 
bonds  or  my  own  fortune  must  go,  and  it  only  remained  with 
me  to  determine  which. 

"  Paula,  nothing  but  the  ingrained  principle  of  a  lifetime, 


FROM  A.    TO  Z. 

the  habit  of  doing  the  honest  thing  without  thought  or  hesi- 
tation, saves  a  man  at  an  hour  like  that.  Strong  as  I  believed 
myself  to  be  in  the  determination  never  again  to  flaw  my 
manhood  by  the  least  action  unworthy  of  my  position  as  the 
guardian  of  trusts,  earnest  as  I  was  in  my  recoil  from  evil, 
and  sincere  as  I  may  have  been  in  my  admiration  of  and 
desire  for  the  good,  I  no  sooner  saw  myself  tottering  between 
ruin  and  a  compromise  with  conscience,  than  I  hesitated — 
hesitated  with  you  under  my  roof,  and  with  the  words  we 
had  been  speaking  still  ringing  in  my  ears.  Ona's  influence, 
for  all  the  trials  of  our  married  life,  was  still  too  strong  upon 
me.  To  think  of  her  as  deprived  of  the  splendor  which 
was  her  life,  daunted  my  very  soul.  I  dared  not  contem- 
plate a  future  in  which  she  must  stand  denuded  of  every- 
thing which  made  existence  dear  to  her ;  yet  how  could  I  do 
the  evil  thing  I  contemplated,  even  to  save  her  and  preserve 
my  own  position  !  For — and  you  must  understand  this — I 
regarded  any  appropriation  of  these  funds  I  had  delegated 
to  the  use  of  the  Japhas,  as  a  fresh  and  veritable  abuse  of 
trust.  They  were  not  mine.  I  had  given  them  away.  Un- 
known to  any  one  but  my  own  soul  and  God,  I  had  deeded 
them  to  a  special  purpose,  and  to  risk  them  as  I  now  pro- 
posed doing,  was  an  act  that  carried  me  back  to  the  days  of 
my  former  delinquency,  and  made  the  repentance  of  the  last 
few  years  the  merest  mockery.  What  if  I  might  recover 
them  hereafter  and  restore  them  to  their  place  ;  the  chances 
in  favor  of  their  utter  loss  were  also  possible,  and  honesty 
deals  not  with  chances.  I  suffered  so,  I  had  a  momentary 


466  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

temptation  towards  suicide  ;  but  suddenly,  in  the  midst  of  the 
struggle,  came  the  thought  that  perhaps  in  my  estimate  of 
Ona  I  had  committed  a  gross  injustice,  that  while  she  loved 
splendor  seemingly  more  than  any  woman  I  had  ever  known, 
she  might  be  as  far  from  wishing  me  to  retain  her  in  it  at  the 
price  of  my  own  self-respect,  as  the  most  honest-hearted  wife 
in  the  world  ;  and  struck  by  the  hope,  I  left  my  agent  at  a 
hotel  and  hurried  home  through  the  early  morning  to  her 
side.  She  Was  asleep,  of  course,  but  I  wakened  her.  It  was 
dark  and  she  had  a  right  to  be  fretful,  but  when  I  whispered 
in  her  ear,  '  Get  up  and  listen  to  me,  for  our  fortune  is  at 
stake,'  she  at  once  rose  and  having  risen,  was  h«r  clearest, 
coldest,  most  implacable  self.  Paula,  I  told  her  my  story,  my 
whole  story  as  I  have  told  it  to  you  here.  I  dropped  no 
thread,  I  smoothed  over  no  offence.  Torturing  as  it  was  to 
my  pride,  I  laid  bare  my  soul  before  her,  and  then  in  a  burst 
of  appeal  such  as  I  hope  never  to  be  obliged  to  make  use  of 
again,  asked  her  as  she  was  a  woman  and  a  wife,  to  save  me 
in  this  hour  of  my  temptation. 

"  Paula,  she  refused.  More  than  that,  she  expressed  the 
bitterest  scorn  of  my  mawkish  conscientiousness,  as  she 
called  it.  That  I  should  consider  myself  as  owing  anything 
to  the  detestable  wretch  who  was  the  only  representative  of 
the  Japhas,  was  bad  enough,  but  that  I  should  go  on  treas- 
uring the  money  that  would  save  us,  was  disgraceful  if  not 
worse,  and  betrayed  a  weakness  of  mind  for  which  she  had 
never  given  me  credit. 

"  '  But  Ona,'  I  cried,  '  if  it  is  a  weakness  of  mind,  it  is 


FROM  A.    TO   Z.  467 

also  an  equivalent  to  my  consciousness  of  right  living. 
Would  you  have  me  sacrifice  that  ? ' 

"'I  would  have  you  sacrifice  anything  necessary  to 
preserve  us  in  our  position,'  said  she  ;  and  I  stood  aghast 
before  an  unscrupulousness  greater  than  any  I  had  hitherto 
been  called  upon  to  face. 

" '  Ona,'  repeated  I,  for  her  look  was  cold,  '  do  you  real- 
ize what  I  have  been  telling  you?  Most  wives  would 
shudder  when  informed  that  their  husbands  had  perpetrated 
a  dishonest  act  in  order  to  win  them.' 

"  A  thin  strange  smile  heralded  her  reply.  '  Most  wives 
would,'  returned  she,  '  but  most  wives  are  ignorant.  Did 
you  suppose  I  did  not  know  what  it  cost  you  to  marry  me  ? 
Papa  took  care  I  should  miss  no  knowledge  that  might  be 
useful  to  me.' 

"  '  And  you  married  me  knowing  what  I  had  done  ! '  ex- 
claimed I,  with  incredulous  dismay. 

"  '  I  married  you,  knowing  you  were  too  clever,  or  be- 
lieving you  to  be  too  clever,  to  run  such  a  risk  again.' 

"  I  can  say  no  more  concerning  that  hour.  With  a 
horror  for  this  woman  such  as  I  had  never  before  experi- 
enced for  living  creature,  I  rushed  out  of  her  presence, 
loathing  the  air  she  breathed,  yet  resolved  to  do  her  bidding. 
Can  you  understand  a  man  hating  a  woman,  yet  obeying  her ; 
despising  her,  yet  yielding  ?  I  cannot,  now,  but  that  day 
there  seemed  no  alternative.  Either  I  must  kill  myself  or 
follow  her  wishes.  I  chose  to  do  the  latter,  forgetting  that 
God  can  kill,  and  that,  too,  whom  and  when  He  pleases. 


468  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Going  down  to  the  bank,  I  procured  the  bonds  from 
my  box  in  the  safe.  I  felt  like  a  thief,  and  the  manner  in 
which  it  was  done  was  unwittingly  suggestive  of  crime,  but 
with  that  and  the  position  in  which  I  have  since  found 
myself  placed  by  this  very  action,  I  need  not  cumber  my 
present  narrative.  Handing  the  bonds  to  my  agent  with 
orders  to  sell  them  to  the  best  advantage,  I  took  a  short  walk 
to  quiet  my  nerves  and  realize  what  I  had  done,  and  then 
went  home. 

"  Paula,  had  God  in  his  righteous  anger  seen  fit  to  strike 
me  down  that  day,  it  would  have  been  no  more  than  my  due 
and  aroused  in  me,  perhaps,  no  more  than  a  natural  repent- 
ence.  But  when  I  saw  her  for  whose  sake  I  had  ostensibly 
committed  this  fresh  abuse  of  trust,  lying  cold  and  dead 
before  me,  the  sword  of  the  Almighty  pierced  me  to  the  soul, 
and  I  fell  prostrate  beneath  a  remorse  to  which  any  regret  I 
had  hitherto  experienced,  was  as  the  playing  of  a  child  with 
shadows.  Had  I  by  the  losing  of  my  right  arm  been  able  to 
recall  my  action,  I  would  have  done  it ;  indeed  I  made  an 
effort  to  recover  myself;  had  my  agent  followed  up  with  an 
order  to  return  me  the  bonds  I  had  given  him,  but  it  was 
too  late,  the  compromise  had  already  been  effected  by  tele- 
graph and  the  money  was  out  of  our  hands.  The  deed  was 
done  and  I  had  made  myself  unworthy  of  your  presence  and 
your  smile  at  the  very  hour  when  both  would  have  been 
inestimable  to  me.  You  remember  those  days ;  remember 
our  farewell.  Let  me  believe  you  do  not  blame  me  now  for 
what  must  have  seemed  harsh  and  unnecessary  to  you  then. 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  469 

"  There  is  but  little  more  to  write,  but  in  that  little  is 
compressed  the  passion,  longing,  hope  and  despair  of  a  life- 
time. When  I  told  you  as  I  did  a  few  hours  ago  that  my 
sin  was  dead  and  its  consequences  at  an  end,  I  repeat  that  I 
fully  and  truly  believed  it.  The  hundred  thousand  dollars 
I  had  sent  West,  had  been  used  to  advantage,  and  only  day 
before  yesterday  I  was  enabled  to  sell  out  my  share  in  the 
mine,  for  a  large  sum  that  leaves  me  free  and  unembarrassed, 
to  make  the  fortune  of  more  than  one  Japha,  should  God 
ever  see  fit  to  send  them  across  my  pathway.  More  than 
that,  Mr.  Delafield,  of  whose  discretion  I  had  sometimes  had 
my  fears,  was  dead,  having  perished  of  a  fever  some  months 
before  in  San  Francisco;  and  of  all  men  living,  there  were 
none  as  I  believed,  who  knew  anything  to  the  discredit  of 
my  name.  I  was  clear,  or  so  I  thought,  in  fortune  and  in 
fame  ;  and  being  so,  dreamed  of  taking  to  my  empty  and 
yearning  arms,  the  loveliest  and  the  purest  of  mortal  women. 
But  God  watched  over  you  and  prevented  an  act  whose  con- 
sequences might  have  been  so  cruel.  In  an  hour,  Paula,  in 
an  hour,  I  had  learned  that  the  foul  thing  was  not  dead, 
that  a  witness  had  picked  up  the  words  I  had  allowed  to 
fall  in  my  interview  with  my  father-in-law  in  the  restaurant 
two  years  before ;  an  unscrupulous  witness  who  had  been  on 
my  track  ever  since,  and  who  now  in  his  eagerness  for  a 
victim,  had  by  mistake  laid  his  clutch  upon  our  Bertram. 
Yes,  owing  to  the  similarity  of  our  voices  and  the  fact  that 
we  both  make  use  of  a  certain  tell-tale  word,  this,  patient  and 
upright  nephew  of  mine  stands  at  this  moment  under  the 


47°  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

charge  of  having  acknowledged  in  the  hearing  of  this  person, 
to  the  committal  of  an  act  of  dishonesty  in  the  past.  A  fool- 
ish charge  you  will  say,  and  one  easily  refuted.  Alas,  a  fresh 
act  of  dishonesty  lately  perpetrated  in  the  bank,  complicates 
matters.  A  theft  has  been  committed  on  some  of  Mr.  Stuy- 
vesant's  effects,  and  that,  too,  under  circumstances  that  in- 
voluntarily arouse  suspicion  against  some  one  of  the  bank 
officials;  and  Bertram,  if  not  sustained  in  his  reputation, 
must  suffer  from  the  doubts  which  naturally  have  arisen  in 
Mr.  Stuyvesant's  breast.  The  story  which  this  man  could 
tell,  must  of  course  shake  the  faith  of  any  one  in  the  reputa- 
tion of  him  against  whom  it  is  directed,  and  the  man  intends 
to  repeat  his  story,  and  that,  too,  in  the  very  ears  of  him  upon 
whose  favor  Bertram  depends  for  his  life's  happiness  and  the 
winning  of  the  woman  he  adores.  I  adore  you,  Paula,  but  I 
cannot  clasp  you  to  my  heart  across  another  sin.  If  the  de- 
tectives whom  we  shall  call  in  to-morrow,  cannot  exonerate 
those  connected  with  the  bank  from  the  theft  lately  com- 
mitted there — and  the  fact  that  you  have  been  allowed  to 
read  this  letter,  prove  they  have  not — I  must  do  what  I  can 
to  relieve  Bertram  from  his  painful  position,  by  taking  upon 
myself  the  onus  of  that  past  transgression  which  of  right  be- 
longs to  my  account ;  and  this  once  done,  let  the  result  be 
for  good  or  ill,  any  bond  between  you  and  me  is  cut  loose 
forever.  I  have  not  learned  to  love  at  this  late  hour,  to 
wrong  the  precious  thing  I  cherish.  Death  as  it  is  to  me  to 
say  good-bye  to  the  one  last  gleam  of  heavenly  light  that  has 
shot  across  my  darkened  way,  it  must  be  done,  dear  heart,  if 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  471 

only  to  hold  myself  worthy  of  the  tender  and  generous  love 
you  have  designed  to  bestow  upon  me.  Bertram,  who  is  all 
generosity,  may  guess  but  does  not  know,  what  I  am  about 
to  do.  Go  down  to  him,  dear;  tell  him  that  at  this  very 
moment,  perhaps,  I  am  clearing  his  name  before  the  wretch 
who  has  so  ruthlessly  fastened  his  fang  upon  him ;  that  his 
love  and  Cicely's  shall  prosper,  as  he  has  been  loyal,  and  she 
trusting,  all  these  years  of  effort  and  probation  ;  that  I  give 
him  my  blessing,  and  that  if  we  do  not  meet  again,  I  delegate 
to  him  the  trust  of  which  I  so  poorly  acquitted  myself.  But 
before  you  go,  stop  a  moment  and  in  this  room,  which  has 
always  symbolized  to  my  eyes  the  poverty  which  was  my 
rightful  due,  kneel  and  pray  f9r  my  soul ;  for  if  God  grants 
me  the  wish  of  my  heart,  he  will  strike  me  with  sudden  death 
after  I  have  taken  upon  myself  the  disgrace  of  my  past 
offences.  Life  without  love  can  be  borne,  but  life  without 
honor  never.  To  come  and  go  amongst  my  fellow-men  with 
a  shadow  on  the  fame  they  have  always  believed  spotless  ! 
Do  not  ask  me  to  attempt  it  !  Pray  for  my  soul,  but  pray 
too,  that  I  may  perish  in  some  quick  and  sudden  way  before 
ever  your  dear  eyes  rest  upon  my  face  again. 

"And  now,  as  though  this  were  to  be  the  end,  let  me  take 
my  last  farewell  of  you.  I  have  loved  you,  Paula,  loved  you 
with  my  heart,  my  mind  and  my  soul.  You  have  been  my 
angel  of  inspiration  and  the  source  of  all  my  comfort.  I 
kneel  before  you  in  gratitude,  and  I  stand  above  you  in 
blessing.  May  every  pang  I  suffer  this  hour,  redound  to 
you  in  some  sweet  happiness  hereafter.  I  do  not  quarrel 


472  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

with  my  fate,  I  only  ask  God  to  spare  you  from  its  shadow. 
And  He  will.  Love  will  flow  back  upon  your  young  life, 
and  in  regions  where  our  eye  now  fails  to  pierce,  you  will 
taste  every  joy  which  your  generous  heart  once  thought  to 
bestow  on 

"  EDWARD  SYLVESTER." 


XL. 

HALF-PAST     SEVEN. 
u  I  would  it  were  midnight,  Hal,  and  all  well."— HENRY  IV. 

THE  library  was  dim ;  Bertram,  who  had  felt  the  oppres- 
sive influence  of  the  great  empty  room,  had  turned  down 
the  lights,  and  was  now  engaged  in  pacing  the  floor,  with 
restless  and  uneven  steps,  asking  himself  a  hundred  ques- 
tions, and  wishing  with  all  the  power  of  his  soul,  that  Mr. 
Sylvester  would  return,  and  by  his  appearance  cut  short  a 
suspense  that  was  fast  becoming  unendurable. 

He  had  just  returned  from  his  third  visit  to  the  front 
door,  when  the  curtain  between  him  and  the  hall  was  gently 
raised,  and  Paula  glided  in  and  stood  before  him.  She  was 
dressed  for  the  street,  and  her  face  where  the  light  touched 
it,  shone  like  marble  upon  which  has  fallen  the  glare  of  a 
lifted  torch. 

"  Paula  !  "  burst  from  the  young  man's  lips  in  surprise. 

"  Hush  !  "  said  she,  her  voice  quavering  with  an  emotion 
that  put  to  defiance  all  conventionalities,  "  I  want  you  to 
take  me  to  the  place  where  Mr.  Sylvester  is  gone.  He  is  in 
danger  ;  I  know  it,  I  feel  it.  I  dare  not  leave  him  any 
longer  alone.  I  might  be  able  to  save  him  if — if  he  medi- 
tates anything  that — "  she  did  not  try  to  say  what,  but  drew 


474  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

nearer  to  Bertram  and  repeated  her  request.  "  You  will 
take  me,  won't  you  ?  " 

He  eyed  her  with  amazement,  and  a  shudder  seized  his 
own  strong  frame.  "  No,"  cried  he,  "  I  cannot  take  you  ; 
you  do  not  know  what  you  ask  ;  but  I  will  go  myself  if  you 
apprehend  anything  serious.  I  remember  where  it  is.  I 
studied  the  address  too  closely,  to  readily  forget  it." 

"  You  shall  not  go  without  me,"  returned  Paula  with 
steady  decision.  "  If  the  danger  is  what  I  fear,  no  one  else 
can  save  him.  I  must  go,"  she  added,  with  passionate  im- 
portunity as  she  saw  him  still  looking  doubtful.  "  Darkness 
and  peril  are  nothing  to  me  in  comparison  with  his  safety. 
He  holds  my  life  in  his  hand,"  she  softly  whispered,  "  and 
what  will  not  one  do  for  his  life  !  "  Then  quickly,  •"  If  you 
go  without  me  I  shall  follow  with  Aunt  Belinda.  Nothing 
shall  keep  me  in  the  house  to-night." 

He  felt  the  uselessness  of  further  objection,  yet  he  ven- 
tured to  say,  "  The  place  where  he  has  gone  is  one  of  the 
worst  in  the  city ;  a  spot  which  men  hesitate  to  enter  after 
dark.  You  don't  know  what  you  ask  in  begging  me  to  take 
you  there." 

"  I  do,  I  realize  everything." 

With  a  sudden  awe  of  the  great  love  which  he  thus 
beheld  embodied  before  him,  Bertram  bowed  his  head 
and  moved  towards  the  door.  "  I  may  consider  it  wise 
to  obtain  the  guidance  of  a  policeman  through  the  quarter 
into  which  we  are  about  to  venture.  Will  you  object  to 
that  ?  " 


FROM  A.    TO  Z.  475 

"  No,"  was  her  quick  reply,  "  I  object  to  nothing  but 
delay." 

And  with  a  last  look  about  the  room,  as  if  some  sensation' 
of  farewell  were  stirring  in  her  breast,  she  laid  her  hand  on 
Bertram's  arm,  and  together  they  hurried  away  into   the 
night. 


BOOK  V. 
WOMAN'S    LOVE. 

XLI. 

THE    WORK    OF    AN    HOUR. 

"  Base  is  the  slave  that  pays." — HENRY  V. 

"  Heaven  has  no  rage  like  love  to  hatred  turned, 

Nor  hell  a  fury  like  a  woman  scorned."  — CONGRKVK. 

MR.  SYLVESTER  upon  leaving  the  bank,  had  taken  his 
usual  route  up  town.  But  after  an  aimless  walk  of  a  few 
blocks,  he  suddenly  paused,  and  with  a  quiet  look  about  him, 
drew  from  his  pocket  the  small  slip  of  paper  which  Bertram 
had  laid  on  his  table  the  night  before,  and  hurriedly  con- 
sulted its  contents.  Instantly  an  irrepressible  exclamation 
escaped  him,  and  he  turned  his  face  to  the  heavens  with  the 
look  of  one  who  recognizes  the  just  providence  of  God. 
The  name  which  he  had  just  read,  was  that  of  the  old  lover 
of  Jacqueline  Japha,  Roger  Holt,  and  the  address  given, 
was  63  Baxter  Street. 

Twilight  comes  with  different  aspects  to  the  broad 
avenues  of  the  rich,  and  the  narrow  alleys  of  the  poor.  In 
the  reeking  slums  of  Baxter  Street,  poetry  would  have  had  to 
search  long  for  the  purple  glamour  that  makes  day's  dying 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  477 

hour  fair  in  open  fields  and  perfumed  chambers.  Even  the 
last  dazzling  gleam  of  the  sun  could  awaken  no  sparkle  from 
the  bleared  windows  of  the  hideous  tenement  houses  that 
reared  their  blank  and  disfigured  walls  toward  the  west. 
The  chill  of  the  night  blast  and  the  quick  dread  that  follows 
in  the  steps  of  coming  darkness,  were  all  that  could  enter 
these  regions,  unless  it  was  the  stealthy  shades  of  vice  and 
disease. 

Mr.  Sylvester  standing  before  the  darkest  and  most 
threatening  of  the  many  dark  and  threatening  houses  that 
cumbered  the  street,  was  a  sight  to  draw  more  than  one  head 
from  the  neighboring  windows.  Had  it  been  earlier,  he 
would  have  found  himself  surrounded  by  a  dozen  ragged  and 
importunate  children  ;  had  it  been  later,  he  would  have  run 
the  risk  of  being  garroted  by  some  skulking  assassin  ;  as  it 
was,  he  stood  there  unmolested,  eying  the  structure  that  held 
within  its  gloomy  recesses  the  once  handsome  and  captiva- 
ting lover  of  Jacqueline  Japha.  He  was  not  the  only  man 
who  would  have  hesitated  before  entering  there.  Low  and 
insignificant  as  the  building  appeared — and  its  two  stories 
certainly  looked  dwarfish  enough  in  comparison  with  the 
two  lofty  tenement  houses  that  pressed  it  upon  either  side — 
there  was  something  in  its  quiet,  almost  uninhabited  aspect 
that  awakened  a  vague  apprehension  of  lurking  danger.  A 
face  at  a  window  would  have  been  a  relief;  even  the  sight  of 
a  customer  in  the  noisome  groggery  that  occupied  the  ground 
floor.  From  the  dwellings  about,  came  the  hum  of  voices 
and  now  and  then  the  sound  of  a  shrill  laugh  or  a  smothered 


4/8  THE   SIVORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

cry,  but  from  this  house  came  nothing,  unless  it  was  the  slow 
ooze  of  a  stream  of  half-melted  snow  that  found  its  way  from 
under  the  broken-down  doorway  to  the  gutter  beyond. 

Stepping  bravely  forward,  Mr.  Sylvester  entered  the  open 
door.  A  flight  of  bare  and  rickety  steps  met  his  eye.  As- 
cending them,  he  found  himself  in  a  hall  which  must  have 
been  poorly  lighted  at  any  time,  but  which  at  this  late  hour 
was  almost  dark.  It  was  not  very  encouraging,  but  pressing 
on,  he  stopped  at  a  door  and  was  about  to  knock,  when  his 
eyes  becoming  accustomed  to  the  darkness,  he  detected 
standing  at  the  foot  of  the  stairs  leading  to  the  story  above, 
the  tall  and  silent  figure  of  a  woman.  It  was  no  common 
apparition.  Like  a  sentinel  at  his  post,  or  a  spy  on  the  out- 
skirts of  the  enemy's  camp,  she  stood  drawn  up  against  the 
wall,  her  whole  wasted  form  quivering  with  eagerness  or  some 
other  secret  passion  ;  darkness  on  her  brow  and  uncertainty 
on  her  lip.  She  was  listening,  or  waiting,  or  both,  and  that 
with  an  entire  absorption  that  prevented  her  from  heeding 
the  approach  of  a  stranger's  step.  Struck  by  so  sinister  a 
presence  in  a  place  so  dark  and  desolate,  Mr.  Sylvester  un- 
consciously drew  back.  As  he  did  so,  the  woman  thrilled 
and  looked  up,  but  not  "at  him.  A  lame  child's  hesitating 
and  uneven  step  was  heard  crossing  the  floor  above,  and  it 
was  towards  it  she  turned,  and  for  it  she  composed  her  whole 
form  into  a  strange  but  evil  calmness. 

"  Ah,  he  let  you  come  then  !  "  Mr.  Sylvester  heard  her 
exclaim  in  a  low  smothered  tone,  whose  attempted  lightness 
did  not  hide  the  malevolent  nature  of  her  interest. 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  479 

"Yes,"  came  back  in  the  clear  and  confiding  tones  of 
childhood.  "  I  told  him  you  loved  me  and  gave  me  candy- 
balls,  and  he  let  me  come." 

A  laugh  quick  and  soon  smothered,  disturbed  the  sur- 
rounding gloom.  "  You  told  him  I  loved  you !  Well,  that  is 
good  ;  I  do  love  you  ;  love  you  as  I  do  my  own  eyes  that  I 
could  crush,  crush,  for  ever  having  lingered  on  the  face  of 
my  betrayer  !  "  % 

The  last  phrase  was  muttered,  and  did  not  seem  to  con- 
vey any  impression  to  the  child.  "  Hold  out  your  arms  and 
catch  me,"  cried  he  ;  "I  am  going  to  jump." 

She  appeared  to  comply ;  for  he  gave  a  little  ringing 
laugh  that  was  startlingly  clear  and  fresh. 

"  He  asked  me  what  your  name  was,"  babbled  he,  as  he 
nestled  in  her  arms.  "  He  is  always  asking  what  your  name 
is  ;  Dad  forgets,  Dad  does  ;  or  else  it's  because  he's  never 
seen  you." 

"And  what  did  you  tell  him?"  she  asked,  ignoring  the 
last  remark  with  an  echo  of  her  sarcastic  laugh. 

"  Mrs.  Smith,  of  course." 

She  threw  back  her  head  and  her  whole  form  acquired 
an  aspect  that  made  Mr.  Sylvester  sh'udder.  "  That's  good," 
she  cried,  "  Mrs.  Smith  by  all  means."  Then  with  a  sudden 
lowering  of  her  face  to  his — "  Mrs.  Smith  is  good  to  you, 
isn't  she  ;  lets  you  sit  by  her  fire  when  she  has  any,  and 
gives  you  peanuts  to  eat  and  sometimes  spares  you  a 
penny  !  " 

"  Yes,  yes,"  the  boy  cried. 


480  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"Come  then,"  she  said,  "let's  go  home." 

She  put  him  down  on  the  floor,  and  gave  him  his  little 
crutch.  Her  manner  was  not  unkind,  and  yet  Mr.  Sylvester 
trembled  as  he  saw  the  child  about  to  follow  her. 

"  Didn't  you  ever  have  any  little  boys  ?  "  the  child  sud- 
denly asked. 

The  woman  shrank  as  if  a  burning  steel  had  been 
plunged  against  her  breast.  Looking  down  on  the  frightened 
child,  she  hissed  out  from  between  her  teeth,  "  Did  he  tell 
you  to  ask  me  that  ?  Did  he  dare — "  She  stopped  and 
pressed  her  arms  against  her  swelling  heart  as  if  she  would 
smother  its  very  beats.  "  Oh  no,  of  course  he  didn't  tell 
you ;  what  does  he  know  or  care  about  Mrs.  Smith  !  "  Then 
with  a  quick  gasp  and  a  wild  look  into  the  space  before  her, 
"  My  child  dead,  and  her  child  alive  and  beloved  !  What 
wonder  that  I  hate  earth  and  defy  heaven  !  " 

She  caught  the  boy  by  the  hand  and  drew  him  quickly 
away.  "You  will  be  good  to  me,"  he  cried,  frightened  by 
her  manner  yet  evidently  fascinated  too,  perhaps  on  account 
of  the  faint  sparks  of  kindness  that  alternated  with  gusts  of 
passion  he  did  not  understand.  "  You  won't  hurt  me  ; 
you'll  let  me  sit  by  the  fire  and  get  warm  ?" 

"Yes,  yes." 

"  And  eat  a  bit  of  bread  with  butter  on  it  ?  " 

"  Yes,  yes." 

"  Then  I'll  go." 

She  drew  him  down  the  hall.  "  Why  do  you  like  to  have 
me  come  to  your  house  ?  "  he  prattled  away. 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  481 

She  turned  on  him  with  a  look  which  unfortunately  Mr. 
Sylvester  could  not  see.  "  Because  your  eyes  are  so 
blue  and  your  skin  is  so  white ;  they  make  me  remember 
her  !  " 

"  And  who  is  her  ?  " 

She  laughed  and  seemed  to  hug  herself  in  her  rage  and 
bitterness.  "  Your  mother !  "  she  cried,  and  in  speaking  it, 
she  came  upon  Mr.  Sylvester. 

He  at  once  put  out  his  hand. 

"  I  don't  know  who  you  are,"  said  he,  "  but  I  do  not 
think  you  had  better  take  the  child  out  to-night.  From 
what  you  say,  his  father  is  evidently  upstairs  ;  if  you  will 
give  the  boy  to  me,  I  will  take  him  back  and  leave  him 
where  he  belongs." 

"  You  will  ?  "  The  slow'intensity  of  her  tone  was  inde- 
scribable. "  Know  that  I  don't  bear  interference  from 
strangers."  And  catching  up  the  child,  she  rushed  by  him 
like  a  flash.  "  You  are  probably  one  of  those  missionaries 
who  go  stealing  about  unasked  into  respectable  persons' 
rooms  "  she  called  back.  "  If  by  any  chance  you  wander 
into  his,  tell  him  his  child  is  in  good  hands,  do  you  hear,  in 
good  hands  !  "  And  with  a  final  burst  of  her  hideous  laugh, 
she  dashed  down  the  stairs  and  was  gone. 

Mr.  Sylvester  stood  shocked  and  undecided.  His 
fatherly  heart  urged  him  to  search  at  once  for  the  parent  of 
this  lame  boy,  and  warn  him  of  the  possible  results  of  en- 
trusting his  child  to  a  woman  with  so  little  command  over 
herself.  But  upon  taking  out  his  watch  and  finding  it  later 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES.' 

by  a  good  half-hour  than  he  expected,  he  was  so  struck  with 
the  necessity  of  completing  his  errand,  that  he  forgot  every- 
thing else  in  his  anxiety  to  confront  Holt.  Knocking  at  the 
first  door  he  came  to,  he  waited.  A  quick  snarl  and  a  sur- 
prised, "  Come  in  !  "  announced  that  he  had  scared  up  some 
sort  of  a  living  being,  but  whether  man  or  woman  he  found 
it  impossible  to  tell,»even  after  the'door  opened  and  the 
creature,  whoever  it  was,  rose  upon  him  from  a  pile  of  rags 
scattered  in  one  corner. 

"  I  want  Mr.  Holt ;  can  you  tell  me  where  to  find  him  ?  " 

"  Upstairs,"  was  the  only  reply  he  received,  as  the  crea- 
ture settled  down  again  upon  its  heap  of  tattered  clothing. 

Fain  to  be  content  with  this,  he  went  up  another  flight 
and  opened  another  door.  He  was  more  successful  this 
time  ;  one  glance  of  his  eye  a'ssured  him  that  the  man  he 
was  in  search  of,  sat  before  him.  He  had  never  seen  Mr. 
Holt  ;  but  the  regular  if  vitiated  features  of  the  person  upon 
whom  he  now  intruded,  his  lank  but  not  ungraceful  form, 
and  free  if  not  airy  manners,  were  not  so  common  among 
the  denizens  of  this  unwholesome  quarter,  that  there  could 
be  any  doubt  as  to  his  being  the  accomplished  but  degener- 
ate individual  whose  once  attractive  air  had  stolen  the  heart 
of  Colonel  Japha's  daughter. 

He  was  sitting  in  front  of  a  small  pine  table,  and  when 
Mr.  Sylvester's  eyes  first  fell  upon  him,  was  engaged  in 
watching  with  a  somewhat  sinister  smile,  the  final' twirl  of  a 
solitary  nickle  which  he  had  set  spinning  on  the  board  before 
him.  But  at  the  sound  of  a  step  at  the  door,  a  lightning 


WOMAN'S' LOVE.  483 

change  passed  over  his  countenance,  and  rising  with  a  quick 
anticipatory  "  Ah  !  "  he  turned  with  hasty  action  to  meet  the 
intruder.  A  second  exclamation  and  a  still  more  hasty 
recoil  were  the  result.  This  was  not  the  face  or  the  form  of 
him  whom  he  had  expected. 

"  Mr.  Holt,  I  believe  ?  "  inquired  Mr.  Sylvester,  advanc- 
ing with  his  most  dignified  mien. 

The  other  bowed,  but  in  a  doubtful  way  that  for  a 
moment  robbed  him  of  his  usual  air  of  impudent  self-asser- 
tion. 

"  Then  I  have  business  with  you,"  continued  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter, laying  the  man's  own  card  down  on  the  table  before  him. 
"  My  name  is  Sylvester,"  he  proceeded,  with  a  calmness  that 
surprised  himself;  "and  I  am  the  uncle  of  the  young  man 
upon  whom  you  are  at  present  presuming  to  levy  blackmail." 

The  assurance  which  for  a  moment  had  deserted  the 
countenance  of  the  other,  returned  with  a  flash.  "  His 
uncle  !  "  reechoed  he,  with  a  low  anomalous  bow;  "then  it 
is  from  you  I  may  expect  the  not  unreasonable  sum  which  I 
demand  as  the  price  of  my  attentions  to  your  nephew's 
interest.  Very  good,  I  am  not  particular  from  what 
quarter  it  comes,  so  that  it  does  come  and  that  before  the 
clock  has  struck  the  hour  which  I  have  set  as  the  limit  of  my 
forbearance." 

"  Which  is  seven  o'clock,  I  believe  ?  " 

"  Which  is  seven  o'clock." 

Mr.  Sylvester  folded  his  arms  and  sternly  eyed  the  man 
before  him.  "  You  still  adhere  to  your  intention,  then,  of 


484  THE   SWOR'D   OF  DAMOCLES. 

forwarding  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant  at  that  hour,  the  sealed  com- 
munication now  in  the  hands  of  your  lawyer  ?  " 

The  smile  with  which  the  other  responded  was  like  the 
glint  of  a  partly  sheathed  dagger.  "  My  lawyer  has  already 
received  his  instructions.  Nothing  but  an  immediate  coun- 
termand on  my  part,  will  prevent  the  communication  of 
which  you  speak,  from  going  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant  at  seven 
o'clock." 

The  sigh  which  rose  in  Mr.  Sylvester's  breast  did  not 
disturb  the  severe  immobility  of  his  lip.  "  Have  you  ever 
considered  the  possibility,"  said  he,  "  of  the  man  whom  you 
overheard  talking  in  the  restaurant  in  Dey  Street  two  years 
ago,  not  being  Mr.  Bertram  Sylvester  of  the  Madison  Bank  ?  " 

"  No,"  returned  the  other,  with  a  short,  sharp,  and 
wholly  undisturbed  laugh,  "I  do  not  think  I  ever  have"." 

"  Will  you  give  me  credit,  then,  for  speaking  with  reason, 
when  I  declare  to  you  that  the  man  you  overheard  talking  in 
the  manner  you  profess  to  describe  in  your  communication, 
was  not  Mr.  Bertram  Sylvester  ?  " 

A  shrug  of  the  shoulders,  highly  foreign  and  suggestive, 
was  the  other's  answer.  "  It  was  Mr.  Sylvester  or  it  was  the 
devil,"  proclaimed  he — "  with  all  deference  to  your  reason, 
my  good  sir  ;  or  why  are  you  here  ?  "  he  keenly  added. 

Mr.  Sylvester  did  not  reply.  With  a  sarcastic  twitch  of 
his  lips  the  man  took  up  the  nickle  with  which  he  had  been 
amusing  himself  when  the  former  came  in,  and  set  it  spinning 
again  upon  the  table.  "  It  is  half-past  six,"  remarked  he. 
"  It  will  take  me  a  good  half  hour  to  go  to  my  lawyer.'' 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  485 

Mr.  Sylvester  made  a  final  effort.  "  If  you  could  be 
convinced,"  said  he,  "  that  you  have  got  your  grasp  upon 
the  wrong  man,  would  you  still  persist  in  the  course  upon 
which  you  seem  determined?  " 

With  a  dexterous  sleight-of-hand  movement,  the  man 
picked  up  the  whirling  nickle  and  laid  it  flat  on  the  table 
before  him.  "  A  fellow  whose  whole  fortune  is  represented 
by  a  coin  like  that" — tapping  the  piece  significantly — "is  not 
as  easily  convinced  as  a  man  of  your  means,  perhaps.  But 
if  I  should  be  brought  to  own  that  I  had  made  a  mistake  in 
my  man,  I  should  still  feel  myself  justified  in  proceeding 
against  him,  since  my  very  accusation  of  him  seems  to  be 
enough  to  arouse  such  interest  on  the  part  of  his  friends." 

"  Wretch  !  "  leaped  to  Mr.  Sylvester's  lips,  but  he  did 
not  speak  it.  "  His  friends,"  declared  he,  "  have  most 
certainly  a  great  interest  in  his  reputation  and  his  happiness  ; 
but  they  never  will  pay  any  thing  upon  coercion  to  preserve 
the  one  or  to  insure  the  other." 

"  They  won't ! "  And  for  the  first  time  Roger  Holt 
slightly  quavered.- 

"  A  man's  honor  and  happiness  are  much,  and  he  will 
struggle  long  before  he  will  consent  to  part  from  them.  But 
a  citizen  of  a  great  town  like  this,  owes  something  to  his 
fellows,  and  submitting  to  black-mail  is  but  a  poor  precedent 
to  set.  You  will  have  to  proceed  as  you  will,  Mr.  Holt  ; 
neither  my  nephew  nor  myself  have  any  money  to  give 
you." 

The  glare  in  the  man's  eyes  was  like  that  of  an  aroused 


486  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

tiger.  "  Do  you  mean  to  say,"  cried  he,  "  that  you  will  not 
give  from  your  abundance,  a  paltry  thousand  dollars  to  save 
one  of  your  blood  from  a  suspicion  that  will  never  leave  him, 
never  leave  him  to  the  end  of  his  miserable  days  ?  " 

"  I  mean  to  say  that  not  one  cent  will  pass  from  me  to 
you  in  payment  of  a  silence,  which  as  a  gentleman,  you  ought 
to  feel  it  incumbent  upon  you  to  preserve  unasked,  if  only 
to  prove  to  your  fellow-men  that  you  have  not  entirely  lost 
all  the  instincts  of  the  caste  to  which  you  once  belonged. 
Not  that  I  look  for  anything  so  disinterested  from  you,"  he 
went  on.  "  A  man  who  could  enter  the  home  of  a  respect- 
able gentleman,  and  under  cover  of  a  brotherly  regard,  lure 
into  degradation  and  despair,  the  woman  who  was  at  once  its 
ornament  and  pride,  cannot  be  expected  to  practice  the  vir- 
tues of  ordinary  manhood,  much  less  those  of  a  gentleman 
and  a  Christian.  He  is  a  wretch,  who,  whatever  his  breed- 
ing or  antecedents,  is  open  to  nothing  but  execration  and 
contempt." 

With  an  oath  and  a  quick  backward  spring,  Roger  Holt 
cried  out,  "  Who  are  you,  and  by  what  right  do  you  come 
here  to  reproach  me  with  a  matter  dead  and  buried,  by 
heaven,  a  dozen  years  ago  ? " 

"  The  right  of  one  who,  though  a  stranger,  knows  well 
what  you  are  and  what  you  have  done.  Colonel  Japha  him- 
self is  dead,  but  the  avenger  of  his  honor  yet  lives  !  Roger 
Holt,  where  is  Jacqueline  Japha  ?  " 

The  force  with  which  this  was  uttered,  seemed  to  con- 
found the  man.  For  a  moment  he  stood  silent,  his  eye  upon 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  487 

his  guest,  then  a  subtle  change  took  place  in  his  expression , 
he  smiled  with  a  slow  devilish  meaning,  and  tossing  his  head 
with  an  airy  gesture,  lightly  remarked  : 

"You  must  ask  some  more  constant  lover  than  I.  A 
woman  who  was  charming  ten  years  ago — -Bah  !  what  would 
I  be  likely  to  know  about  her  now  !  " 

"  Everything,  when  that  woman  is  Jacqueline  Japha," 
cried  Mr.  Sylvester,  advancing  upon  him  with  a  look  that 
would  have  shaken  most  men,  but  which  only  made  the  eye 
of  this  one  burn  more  eagerly.  "  Though  you  might  easily 
wish  to  give  her  the  slip,  she  is  not  one  to  forget  you.  If 
she  is  alive,  you  know  where  she  is  ;  speak  then,  and  let  the 
worth  of  one  good  action  make  what  amends  it  can  for  a 
long  list  of  evil  ones." 

"You  really  want  to  see  the  woman,  then  ;  enough  to 
pay  for  it,  I  mean  ?  " 

"  The  reward  which  has  been  offered  for  news  of  the  fate 
or  whereabouts  of  Jacqueline  Japha,  still  stands  good,"  was 
Mr.  Sylvester's  reply. 

The  excited  stare  with  which  the  man  received  this  an- 
nouncement, slowly  subsided  into  his  former  subtle  look. 

"  Well,  well,"  said  he,  "  we  will  see."  The  truth  was, 
that  he  knew  no  more  than  the  other  where  this  woman  was 
to  be  found.  "If  I  happen  to  come  across  her  in  any  of  my 
wanderings,  I  shall  know  where  to  apply  for  means  to  make 
her  welcome.  But  that  is  not  what  at  present  concerns  us. 
Your  nephew  is  losing  ground  with  every  passing  minute. 
In  a  half-hour  more  his  future  will  be  decided,  unless  you 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES.      . 

bid  me  order  my  lawyer  to  delay  the  forwarding  of  that 
communication  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant.  In  that  case — " 

k  I  believe  I  have  already  made  it  plain  to  you  that  I 
have  no  intentions  of  interfering  with  your  action  in  this 
matter,"  quoth  Mr.  Sylvester,  turning  slowly  toward  the 
door.  "  If  you  are  determined  to  send  your  statement,  it 
must  go,  only — "  And  here  he  turned  upon  the  bitterly 
disappointed  man  with  an  aspect  whose  nobility  the  other 
was  but  little  calculated  to  appreciate — "  only  when  you  do 
so,  be  particular  to  state  that  the  person  whose  story  you 
thus  forward  to  a  director  of  the  Madison  Bank,  is  not  Ber- 
tram Sylvester,  the  cashier,  but  Edward  Sylvester,  his  uncle, 
and  the  bank's  president." 

And  the  stately  head  bowed  and  the  tall  form  was  about 
to  withdraw,  when  Holt  with  an  excited  tremble  that  affected 
even  his  words,  advanced  and  seized  Mr.  Sylvester  by  the  arm. 

"  His  uncle  !  "  cried  he,  "why  that  is  what  you —  Great 
heaven  !  "  he  exclaimed,  falling  back  with  an  expression  not 
unmixed  with  awe,  "you  are  the  man  and  you  have  de- 
nounced yourself  !  "  Then  quickly,  "  Speak  again  ;  let  me 
hear  your  voice." 

And  Mr.  Sylvester  with  a  sad  smile,  repeated  in  a  slow 
and  meaning  tone,  "It  is  but  one  little  fuss  more  !  "  then  as 
the  other  cringed,  added  a  dignified,  "  Good  evening,  Mr. 
Holt,"  and  passed  swiftly  across  the  room  towards  the  door. 

What  was  it  that  stopped  him  half-way,  and  made  him 
look  back  with  such  a  startled  glance  at  the  man  he  had  left 
behind  him  ?  A  smell  of  smoke  in  the  air,  the  faint  yet  un- 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  .  489 

mistakable  odor  of  burning  wood,  as  though  the  house  were 
on  fire,  or — 

Ha  !  the  man  himself  has  discerned  it,  is  on  his  feet,  is  at 
the  window,  has  seen  what  ?  His  cry  of  mingled  terror  and 
dismay  does  not  reveal.  Mr.  Sylvester  hastens  to  his  side. 

The  sight  which  met  his  eyes,  did  not  for  the  moment 
seem  sufficient  to  account  for  the  degree  of  emotion  ex- 
pressed by  the  other.  To  be  sure,  the  lofty  tenement-house 
which  towered  above  them  from  the  other  side  of  the  narrow 
yard  upon  which  the  window  looked,  was  oozing  with  smoke, 
but  there  were  no  flames  visible,  and  as  yet  no  special  mani- 
festations of  alarm  on  the  part  of  its  occupants.  But  in 
an  instant,  even  while  they  stood  there,  arose  the  sudden 
and  awful  cry  of  "  Fire  !  "  and  at  the  same  moment  they 
beheld  the  roof  and  casements  before  them,  swarm  with 
pallid  faces,  as  men,  women  and  children  rushed  to  the  first 
outlet  that  offered  escape,  only  to  shrink  back  in  renewed 
terror  from  the  deadly  gulf  that  yawned  beneath  them. 

It  was  horrible,  all  the  more  that  the  fire  seem  to  be 
somewhere  in  the  basement  story,  possibly  at  the  foot  of  the 
stairs,  for  none  of  the  poor  shrieking  wretches  before  them 
seemed  to  make  any  effort  to  escape  downwards,  but  rather 
surged  up  towards  the  top  of  the  building,  waving  their  arms 
as  they  fled,  and  filling  the  dusk  with  cries  that  drowned  the 
sound  of  the  coming  engines. 

The  scene  appeared  to  madden  Holt.  "My  boy!  my 
boy  !  my  boy  !  "  rose  from  his  lips  in  an  agonized  shriek  ; 
then  as  Mr.  Sylvester  gave  a  sudden  start,  cried  out  with 


490  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

indiscribable  anguish,  "  He  is  there,  my  boy,  my  own  little 
chap  !  A  woman  in  that  house  has  bewitched  him,  and 
when  he  is  not  with  me,  he  is  always  at  her  side.  O  God, 
curses  on  my  head  for  ever  letting  him  out  of  my  sight  ! 
Do  you  see  him,  sir  ?  Look  for  him,  I  beseech  you  ;  he  is 
lame  and  small ;  his  head  would  barely  reach  to  the  top  of 
the  window-sill." 

"  And  that  was  your  boy  !  "  cried  Mr.  Sylvester.  And 
struck  by  an  appeal  which  in  spite  of  his  abhorrence  of  the 
man  at  his  side,  woke  every  instinct  of  fatherhood  within 
him,  he  searched  with  his  glance  the  long  row  of  windows 
before  them.  But  before  his  eye  had  travelled  half  way 
across  the  building,  he  felt  the  man  at  his  side  quiver  with 
sudden  agony,  and  following  the  direction  of  his  glance,  saw 
a  wan,  little  countenance  looking  down  upon  them  from  a 
window  almost  opposite  to  where  they  stood. 

"  It  is  my  boy !  "  shrieked  the  man,  and  in  his  madness 
would  have  leaped  from  the  casement,  if  Mr.  Sylvester  had 
not  prevented  him. 

"  You  will  not  help  him  so,"  cried  the  latter.  "  See,  he 
is  only  a  few  feet  above  a  bridge  that  appears  to  communi- 
cate with  the  roof  of  the  next  house.  If  he  could  be  let 
down — " 

But  the  man  had  already  precipitated  himself  towards 

the  door  of  the  room  in  which  they  were.     "  Tell  him  not  to 

jump,"  he  called  back.     "  I  am   going  next  door  and  will 

reach  him  in  a  moment.     Tell  him  to  hold  on  till  I  come." 

Mr.  Sylvester  at  once  raised  his  voice.     "  Dont  jump, 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  491 

little  boy  Holt.  If  there  is  no  one  there  to  drop  you  down, 
wait  for  your  father.  He  is  going  on  the  bridge  and  will 
catch  you." 

The  little  fellow  seemed  to  hear,  for  he  immediately  held 
out  his  arms,  but  if  he  spoke,  his  voice  was  drowned  in  the 
frightful  hubbub.  Meanwhile  the  smoke  thickened  around 
him,  and  a  dull  ominous  glare  broke  out  from  the  midst  of 
the  building,  against  which  his  weazen  little  face  looked  pal- 
lid as  death. 

"  His  father  will  be  too  late,"  groaned  Mr.  Sylvester, 
feeling  himself  somehow  to  blame  for  the  child's  horrible 
situation  ;  then  observing  that  the  other  occupants  of  the 
building  had  all  disappeared  towards  the  front,  realized  that 
whatever  fire-escapes  may  have  been  provided,  were  doubt- 
less in  that  direction,  and  raising  his  voice  once  more,  called 
out  across  the  yard,  "  Dont  wait  any  longer,  little  fellow  ; 
follow  the  rest  to  the  front  ;  you  will  be  burned  if  you  stay 
there." 

But  the  child  did  not  move,  only  held  out  his  arms  in  a 
way  to  unman  the  strongest  heart ;  and  presently  while  Mr. 
Sylvester  was  asking  himself  what  could  be  done,  he  heard 
his  shrill  piping  tones  rising  above  the  hiss  of  the  flames, 
and  listening,  caught  the  words  : 

"  I  cannot  get  away.  She  is  holding  me,  Dad.  Help 
your  little  feller ;  help  me,  I'm  so  afraid  of  being  burnt." 
And  looking  closer,  Mr.  Sylvester  discerned  the  outlines  of  a 
woman's  head  and  shoulders  above  the  small  white  face. 

A  distinct  and  positive  fear  at  once  seized  him.     Leaning 


492  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

out,  the  better  to  display  his  own  face  and  figure,  he  called 
to  that  unknown  woman  to  quit  her  hold  and  let  the  child 
go ;  but  a  discordant  laugh,  rising  above  the  roar  of  the  ap- 
proaching flames,  was  his  only  reply.  Sickened  with  appre- 
hension, he  drew  back  and  himself  made  for  the  stairs  in  the 
wild  idea  of  finding  the  father.  But  just  then  the  mad  figure 
of  Holt  appeared  at  the  door,  with  frenzy  in  all  his  looks. 

"  I  cannot  push  through  the  crowd."  cried  he,  "  I  have 
fought  and  struggled  and  shrieked,  but  it  is  all  of  no  use. 
My  boy  is  burning  alive  and  I  cannot  reach  him."  A  lurid 
flame  shot  at  that  moment  from  the  building  before  them,  as 
if  in  emphasis  to  his  words. 

"  He  is  prisoned  there  by  a  woman,"  cried  Mr.  Sylvester, 
pointing  to  the  figure  whose  distorted  outlines  was  every 
moment  becoming  more  and  more  visible  in  the  increasing 
glare.  "  See,  she  has  him  tight  in  her  arms  and  is  pressing 
him  against  the  window-sill." 

The  man  with  a  terrible  recoil,  looked  in  the  direction  of 
his  child,  saw  the  little  white  face  with  its  wild  expression  of 
conscious  terror,  saw  the  face  of  her  who  towered  implacably 
behind  it,  and  shrieked  appalled. 

"  Jacqueline  !  "  he  cried,  and  put  his  hands  up  before  his 
face  as  if  his  eyes  had  fallen  upon  an  avenging  spirit. 

"  Is  that  Jacqueline  Japha  ?  "  asked  Mr.  Sylvester,  drag- 
ging down  the  other's  hands  and  pointing  relentlessly  to- 
wards the  ominous  figure  in  the  window  before  him. 

"Yes,  or  her  ghost,"  cried  the  other,  shuddering  under  a 
horror  that  left  him  little  control  of  his  reason. 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  493 

"Then  your  boy  is  lost,"  murmured  Mr.  Sylvester,  with 
a  vivid  remembrance  of  the  words  he  had  overheard.  "  She 
•will  never  save  her  rival's  child,  never." 

The  man  looked  at  him  with  dazed  eyes.  "  She  shall  save 
him,"  he  cried,  and  stretching  far  out  of  the  window  by 
which  he  stood,  he  pointed  to  the  bridge  and  called  out, 
"  Drop  him,  Jacqueline,  dont  let  him  burn.  He  can  still 
reach  the  next  house  if  he  runs.  Save  my  darling,  save  him." 
But  the  woman  as  if  waiting  for  his  voice,  only  threw 
back  her  head,  and  while  a  bursting  flame  flashed  up  behind 
her,  shrieked  mockingly  back  : 

"  Oh  I  have  frightened  you  up  at  last,  have  I  ?  You  can 
see  me  now,  can.  you  ?  you  can  call  on  Jacqueline  now? 
The  brat  can  make  you  speak,  can  he  ?  Well,  well,  call 
away,  I  love  to  hear  your  voice.  It  is  music  to  me  even  in 
the  face  of  death." 

"  My  boy  !  my  boy,"  was  all  he  could  gasp  ;  "  save  the 
child,  Jacqueline,  only  save  the  child!  " 

But  the  harsh  scornful  laugh  she  returned,  spoke  little  of 
saving.  "  He  is  so  dear,"  she  hissed.  "  I  love  the  offspring 
of  my  rival  so  much !  the  child  that  has  taken  the  place  of 
my  own  darling,  dead  before  ever  I  had  seen  its  innocent 
eyes.  Oh  yes,  yes,  I  will  save  it,  save  it  as  my  own  was 
saved.  When  I  saw  the  puny  infant  in  your  arms  the  day 
you  passed  me  with  her,  I  swore  to  be  its  friend,  don't  you 
remember !  And  I  am,  so  much  of  a  one  that  I  stick  by 
him  to  the  death,  don't  you  see  ?  "  And  raising  him  up  in 
her  arms  till  his  whole  stunted  body  was  visible,  she  turned 


494  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

away  her  brow  and  seemed  to  laugh  in  the  face  of  the 
flames. 

The  father  writhed  below  in  his  agony.  "  Forgive,"  he 
cried,  "  forgive  the  past  and  give  me  back  my  child.  It's  all 
I  have  to  love  ;  it's  all  I've  ever  loved.  Be  merciful,  Jacque- 
line, be  merciful !  " 

Her  face  flashed  back  upon  him,  still  and  white.  "  And 
what  mercy  have  you  ever  shown  to  me  !  Fool,  idiot,  don't 
you  see  I  have  lived  for  this  hour !  To  make  you  feel  for 
once;  to  make  you  suffer  for  once  as  I  have  suffered.  You 
love  the  boy  !  Roger  Holt,  I  once  loved  you." 

And  heedless  of  the  rolling  volume  of  smoke  that  now 
began  to  pour  towards  her,  heedless  even  of  the  long  tongues 
of  hungry  flame  that  were  stretched  out  as  if  feeling  for  her 
from  the  distance  behind,  she  stood  immovable,  gazing  down 
upon  the  casement  where  he  knelt,  with  an  indescribable  and 
awful  smile  upon  her  lips. 

The  sight  was  unbearable.  With  an  instinct  of  despair 
both  men  drew  back,  when  suddenly  they  saw  the  woman 
start,  unloose  her  clasp  and  drop  the  child  out  of  her  arms 
upon  the  bridge.  A  hissing  stream  of  water  had  fallen  upon 
the  flames,  and  the  shock  had  taken  her  by  surprise.  In  a 
moment  the  father  was  himself  again. 

"Get  up,  little  feller,  get  up,"  he  cried,  "or  if  you  cannot 
walk,  crawl  along  the  bridge  to  the  next  house.  I  see  a  fire- 
man there;  he"  will  lift  you  in." 

But  at  that  moment  the  flames,  till  now  held  under 
some  control,  burst  from  an  adjoining  window,  and  caught 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  495 

at  the  woodwork  of  the  bridge.  The  father  yelled  in 
dismay. 

"  Hurry,  little  feller,  hurry !  "  he  cried.  "  Get  over 
towards  the  next  house  before  it  is  too  late." 

But  a  paralysis  seemed  to  have  seized  the  child  ;  he  arose, 
then  stopped,  and  looking  wildly  about,  shook  his  head.  "  I 
cannot,"  he  cried,  "  I  cannot."  And  the  woman  laughed, 
and  with  a  hug  of  her  empty  arms,  seemed  to  throw  her 
taunts  into  the  space  before  her. 

"  Are  you  a  demon  ?  "  burst  from  Mr.  Sylvester's  lips  in 
uncontrollable  horror.  "  Don't  you  see  you  can  save  him  if 
you  will  ?  Jump  down,  then,  and  carry  him  across,  or  your 
father's  curse  will  follow  you  to  the  world  beyond." 

"Yes,  climb  down,"  cried  the  fireman,  "you  are  lighter 
than  I.  Don't  waste  a  minute,  a  second." 

"  It  is  your  own  child,  Jacqueline,  your  own  child  !  " 
came  from  Holt's  white  lips  in  final  desperation.  "  I  have 
deceived  you  ;  your  baby  did  not  die  ;  I  wanted  to  get  rid 
of  you  and  I  wanted  to  save  him,  so  I  lied  to  you.  The 
baby  did  not  die;  he  lived,  and  that  is  he  you  see  lying 
helpless  on  the  bridge  beneath  you." 

Not  the  clutch  of  an  advancing  flame  could  have  made 
her  shrink  more  fearfully.  "  It  is  false,"  she  cried  ;  "  you  are 
lying  now ;  you  want  me  to  save  her  child,  and  dare  to  say  it 
is  mine." 

"  As  God  lives  !  "  he  swore,  lifting  his  ha"nd  and  turning 
his  face  to  the  sky. 

Her  whole  attitude  seemed  to  cry,  "  No,  no,"  to  his  asser- 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

tion  but  slowly  as  she  stood  there,  the  conviction  of  its  truth 
seemed  to  strike  her,  and  her  hair  rose  on  her  forehead  and 
she  swayed  to  and  fro,  as  if  the  earth  were  rolling  under  her 
feet.  Suddenly  she  gave  a  yell,  and  bounded  from  the 
window.  Catching  the  child  in  her  arms,  she  attempted  to 
regain  the  refuge  beyond,  but  the  flames  had  not  dallied  at 
their  work  while  she  hesitated.  The  bridge  was  on  fire  and 
her  retreat  was  cut  off.  She  did  not  attempt  to  escape. 
Stopping  in  the  centre  of  the  rocking  mass,  she  looked  down 
as  only  a  mother  in  her  last  agony  can  do,  on  the  child  she 
held  folded  in  her  arms  ;  then  as  the  flames  caught  at  her 
floating  garments,  stooped  her  head  and  printed  one  wild 
and  passionate  kiss  upon  his  brow.  Another  instant  and 
they  saw  her  head  rise  to  the  accusing  heavens,  then  all  was 
rush  and  horror,  and  the  swaying  structure  fell  before  their 
eyes,  sweeping  its  living  freight  into  the  courtyard  beneath 
their  feet. 


XLII. 

PAULA    RELATES    A    STORY    SHE    HAS    HEARD. 

"  None  are  so  desolate  but  something  dear, 
Dearer  than  self,  possesses  or  possessed." — BYRON. 

IN  the  centre  of  a  long  low  room  not  far  from  the  scene 
of  the  late  disaster,  a  solitary  lamp  was  burning.  It  had 
been  lit  in  haste  and  cast  but  a  feeble  flame,  but  its  light  was 
sufficient  to  illuminate  the  sad  and  silent  group  that  gath- 
ered under  its  rays. 

On  a  bench  by  the  wall,  crouched  the  bowed  and 
stricken  form  of  Roger  Holt,  his  face  buried  in  his  hands, 
his  whole  attitude  expressive  of  the  utmost  grief  ;  at  his  side 
stood  Mr.  Sylvester,  his  tall  figure  looming  sombrely  in  the 
dim  light  ;  and  on  the  floor  at  their  feet,  lay  the  dead  form 
of  the  little  lame  boy. 

But  it  was  not  upon  their  faces,  sad  and  striking  as  they 
were,  that  the  eyes  of  the  few  men  and  women  scattered  in 
the  open  door-way,  rested  most  intently.  It  was  upon  her, 
the  bruised,  bleeding,  half-dead  mother,  who  kneeling  above 
the  little  corpse,  gazed  down  upon  it  with  the  immobility  of 
despair,  moaning  in  utter  heedlessness  of  her  own  condition, 
"  My  baby,  my  baby,  my  own,  own  baby  !  " 

The  fixedness  with  which  she  eyed  the  child,  though  the 


498  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

blood  was  streaming  from  her  forehead  and  bathing  with  a 
still  deeper  red  her  burned  and  blistered  arms,  made  Mr. 
Sylvester's  sympathetic  heart  beat.  Turning  to  the  silent 
figure  of  Holt,  he  touched  him  on  the  arm  and  said  with  a 
gesture  in  her  direction  : 

"  You  have  not  deceived  the  woman  ?  That  is  really  her 
own  child  that  lies  there  ?  " 

The  man  beside  him,  started,  looked  up  with  slowly 
comprehending  eyes,  and  mechanically  bowed  his  head. 
"  Yes,"  assented  he,  and  relapsed  into  his  former  heavy 
silence. 

Mr.  Sylvester  touched  him  again.  "  If  it  is  hers,  how 
came  she  not  to  know  it  ?  How  could  you  manage  to  de- 
ceive such  a  woman  as  that  ?  " 

Holt  started  again  and  muttered,  "  She  was  sick  and  in- 
sensible. She  never  saw  the  baby ;  I  sent  it  away,  and 
when  she  came  to  herself,  told  her  it  was  dead.  We  had 
become  tired  of  each  other  long  before,  and  only  needed  the 
breaking  of  this  bond  to  separate  us.  When  she  saw  me 
again,  it  was  with  another  woman  at  my  side  and  an  infant 
in  my  arms.  The  child  was  weakly  and  looked  younger 
than  he  was.  She  thought  it  her  rival's  and  I  did  not  unde- 
ceive her."  And  the  heavy  head  again  fell  forward,  and 
nothing  disturbed  the  sombre  silence  of  the  room  but  the 
low  unvarying  moan  of  the  wretched  mother,  "  My  baby,  my 
baby,  my  own,  own  baby  !  " 

Mr.  Sylvester  moved  over  to  her  side.  "  Jacqueline," 
said  he,  "  the  child  is  dead  and  you  yourself  are  very  much 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  •         499 

hurt.  Won't  you  let  these  good  women  lay  you  on  a  bed, 
and  do  what  they  can  to  bind  up  your  poor  blistered 
arms  ?  " 

But  she  heard  him  no  more  than  the  wind's  blowing. 
"  My  baby,"  she  moaned,  "  my  own,  own  baby  !  " 

He  drew  back  with  a  troubled  air.  Grief  like  this  he 
could  understand  but  knew  not  how  to  alleviate.  He  was 
just  on  the  point  of  beckoning  forward  one  of  the  many 
women  clustered  in  the  door-way,  when  there  came  a  sound 
from  without  that  made  him  start,  and  in  another  moment  a 
young  man  had  stepped  hastily  into  the  room,  followed  by  a 
girl,  who  no  sooner  saw  Mr.  Sylvester,  than  she  bounded 
forward  with  a  sudden  cry  of  joy  and  relief. 

"  Bertram  !  Paula  !  What  does  this  mean  ?  What  are 
you  doing  here  ?  " 

A  burst  of  sobs  from  the  agitated  girl  was  her  sole  reply. 
"  Such  a  night !  such  a  place !  "  he  exclaimed,  throwing 
his  arm  about  Paula  with  a  look  that  made  her  tremble 
through  her  tears.  "  Were  you  so  anxious  about  me,  little 
one  ? "  he  whispered.  "  Would  not  your  fears  let  you 
rest  ? " 

"  No,  no  ;  and  we  have  had  such  a  dreadful  time  since 
we  got  here.  The  house  where  we  expected  to  find  you,  is 
on  fire,  and  we  thought  of  nothing  else  but  that  you  had 
perished  within  it.  But  finally  some  one  told  us  to  come 
here,  and — "  She  paused  horror-stricken  ;  her  eyes  had 
just  fallen  upon  the  little  dead  child  and  the  moaning 
mother. 


500  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"That  is  Jacqueline  Japha,"  whispered  Mr.  Sylvester. 
"  We  have  found  her,  only  to  -close  her  eyes,  I  fear." 

"  Jacqueline  Japha  !  "  Paula's  hands  unclosed  from  his 
arm. 

"She  was  in' the  large  tenement  house  that  burned  first ; 
that  is  her  child  whose  loss  she  is  mourning." 

"  Jacqueline  Japha  ! "  again  fell  with  an  indescribable 
tone  from  Paula's  lips.  "  And  who  is  that  ? "  she  asked, 
turning  and  indicating  the  silent  figure  by  the  wall. 

"  That  is  Roger  Holt,  the  man  who  should  have  been  her 
husband." 

"  Oh,  I  remember  him,"  she  cried  ;  "  and  her,  I  remem- 
ber her,  and  the  little  child  too.  But,"  she  suddenly  ex- 
claimed, "  she  told  me  then  that  she  was  not  his  mother." 

"  And  she  did  not  know  that  she  was ;  the  man  had 
deceived  her." 

With  a  quick  thrill  Paula  bounded  forward.  "  Jacqueline 
Japha,"  she  cried,  falling  with  outstretched  hands  beside  the 
poor  creature;  "  thank  God  you  are  found  at  last !  " 

But  the  woman  was  as  insensible  to  this  cry  as  she  had 
been  to  all  others.  "  My  baby,"  she  wailed,  "  my  baby,  my 
own,  own  baby  !  " 

Paula  recoiled  in  dismay,  and  for  a  moment  stood  looking 
down  with  fear  and  doubt  upon  the  fearful  being  before  her. 
But  in  another  instant  a  heavenly  instinct  seized  her,  and 
ignoring  the  mother,  she  stooped  over  the  child  and  tenderly 
kissed  it.  The  woman  at  once  woke  from  her  stupor. 
"  My  baby  !  "  she  cried,  snatching  the  child  up  in  her  arms 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  5O1 

with  a  gleam  of  wild  jealousy  ;  "  nobody  shall  touch  it  but 
me.  I  killed  it  and  it  is  all  mine  now  !  "  But  in  a  moment 
she  had  dropped  the  child  back  into  its  place,  and  was  going 
on  with  the  same  set  refrain  that  had  stirred  her  lips  from 
the  first. 

Paula  was  not  to  be  discouraged.  Laying  her  hand  on 
the  child's  brow,  she  gently  smoothed  back  his  hair,  and 
when  she  saw  the  old  gleam  returning  to  the  woman's  coun- 
tenance, said  quietly,  "  Are  you  going  to  carry  it  to  Grote- 
well  to  be  buried  ?  Margery  Hamlin  is  waiting  for  you,  you 
know  ?  " 

The  start  which  shook  the  woman's  haggard  frame, 
encouraged  her  to  proceed. 

"  Yes  ;  you  know  she  has  been  keeping  watch,  and  wait- 
ing for  you  so  long  !  She  is  quite  worn  out  and  disheartened  ; 
fifteen  years  is  a  long  time  to  hope  against  hope,  Jacqueline." 

The  stare  of  the  wretched  creature  deepened  into  a  fierce 
and  maddened  glare.  "  You  don't  know  what  you  are  talking 
about,"  cried  she,  and  bent  herself  again  over  the  child. 

Paula  went  on  as  if  she  had  not  spoken.  "  Any  one  that 
is  loved  as  much  as  you  are,  Jacqueline,  ought  not  to  give 
way  to  despair  ;  even  if  your  child  is  dead,  there  is  still 
some  one  left  whom  you  can  make  supremely  happy." 

"  Him  ?"  the  woman's  look  seemed  to  say,  as  she  turned 
and  pointed  with  frightful  sarcasm  to  the  man  at  their  back. 

Paula  shrank  and  hastily  shook  her  head.  "  No,  no,  not 
him,  but — Let  me  tell  you  a  story,"  she  whispered  eagerly. 
"  In  a  certain  country-town  not  far  from  here,  there  is  a  great 


502  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

empty  house.  It  is  dark,  and  cold,  and  musty.  No  one 
ever  goes  there  but  one  old  lady,  who  every  night  at  six, 
crosses  its  tangled  garden,  unlocks  its  great  side  door,  enters 
within  its  deserted  precincts,  and  for  an  hour  remains  there, 
praying  for  one  whose  return  she  has  never  ceased  to  hope 
and  provide  for.  She  is  kneeling  there  to-night,  at  this  very 
hour,  Jacqueline,  and  the  love  she  thus  manifests  is  greater 
than  that  of  man  to  woman  or  woman  to  man.  It  is  like  that 
of  heaven  or  the  Christ." 

The  woman  before  her  rose  to  her  feet.  She  did  not 
speak,  but  she  looked  like  a  creature  before  whose  eyes  a 
sudden  torch  had  been  waved. 

"  Fifteen  years  has  she  done  this,"  Paula  solemnly 
continues.  "She  promised,  you  know;  and  she  never  has 
forgotten  her  promise." 

With  a  cry  the  woman  put  out  her  hands.  "  Stop  !  "  she 
cried,  "  stop  !  I  don't  believe  it.  No  one  loves  like  that ; 
else  there  is  a  God  and  I — "  She  paused,  quivered,  gave  one 
wild  look  about  her,  and  then  with  a  quick  cry,  something 
between  a  moan  and  a  prayer,  succumbed  to  the  pain  of  her 
injuries,  and  sank  down  insensible  by  the  side  of  her  dead 
child. 

With  a  reverent  look  Paula  bent  over  her  and  kissed  her 
seared  and  bleeding  forehead.  "  For  Mrs.  Hamlin's  sake," 
she  whispered,  and.  quietly  smoothed  down  the  tattered 
clothing  about  the  poor  creature's  wasted  frame. 

Mr.  Sylvester  turned  quietly  upon  the  man  who  had  been 
the  cause  of  all  this  misery.  "  I  charge  myself  with  the  care 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  $03 

of  that  woman,"  said  he,  "  and  with  the  burial  of  your  child. 
It  shall  be  placed  in  decent  ground  with  all  proper  religious 
ceremonial." 

"  What,  you  will  do  this  !  "  cried  Holt,  a  flush  of  real 
feeling  for  a  moment  disturbing  the  chalk-white  pallor  of  his 
cheek.  "Oh  sir,  this  is  Christian  charity ;  and  I  beg  your 
pardon  for  all  that  I  may  have  meditated  against  you.  It 
was  done  for  the  child,"  he  went  on  wildly  ;  "  to  get  him 
the  bread  and  butter  he  often  lacked.  I  didn't  care  so  much 
for  myself.  I  hated  to  see  him  hungry  and  cold  and  ailing  ; 
I  might  have  worked,  but  I  detest  work,  and — But  no  matter 
about  all  that  ;  enough  that  I  am  done  with  endeavoring  to 
extort  money  from  you.  Whatever  may  have  happened  in 
the  past,  you  are  free  from  my  persecutions  in  the  future. 
Henceforth  you  and  yours  can  rest  in  peace." 

"  That  is  well,"  cried  a  voice  over  his  shoulder,  and 
Bertram  with  an  air  of  relief  stepped  hastily  forward.  "  You 
must  be  very  tired,"  remarked  he,  turning  to  his  uncle.  "  If 
you  will  take  charge  of  Paula,  I  will  do  what  I  can  to  see 
that  this  injured  woman  and  the  dead  child  are  properly 
cared  for.  I  am  so  relieved,  sir,  at  this  result,"  he  whispered, 
with  a  furtive  wring  of  his  uncle's  hand,  "  that  I  must  ex- 
press my  joy  in  some  way." 

Mr.  Sylvester  smiled,  but  in  a  manner  that  reflected  but 
little  of  the  other's  satisfaction.  "  Thank  you,"  said  he,  "  I 
am  tired  and  will  gladly  delegate  my  duties  to  you.  I  trust 
you  to  do  the  most  you  can  for  both  the  living  and  the  dead. 
That  woman  for  all  her  seeming  poverty  is  the  possessor  of 


5O4  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

a  large  fortune  ;  "  he  whispered  ;  "  let  her  be  treated  as 
such."  And  with  a  final  word  to  Holt  who  had  sunk  back 
against  the  wall  in  his  old  attitude  of  silent  despair,  Mr. 
Sylvester  took  Paula  upon  his  arm,  and  quietly  led  her  out 
of  this  humble  but  not  unkind  refuge. 


XLIII. 

DETERMINATION. 

"  But  alas  !  to  make  me 
A  fixed  figure  for  the  time  of  scorn 
To  point  his  slow  unmoving  finger  at !  "—OTHELLO. 

"  Let  me  but  bear  your  love,  I'll  bear  your  cares."— HENRY  V. 

"  PAULA  !  " 

They  had  reached  home  and  were  standing  in  the 
library. 

"  Yes,"  said  she,  lowering  her  head  before  his  gaze  with 
a  sweet  and  conscious  blush. 

"  Did  you  read  the  letter  I  left  for  you  in  my  desk  up 
stairs  ?  " 

She  put  her  hand  to  her  bosom  and  drew  forth  the  closely 
written  sheet.  "  Every  word,"  she  responded,  and  smilingly 
returned  it  to  its  place. 

He  started  and  his  chest  heaved  passionately.  "  You 
have  read  it,"  he  cried, -"and  yet  could  follow  me  into  that 
den  of  unknown  dangers  at  an  hour  like  this,  and  with  no 
other  guide  than  Bertram  ?  " 

"  Yes,"  she  answered. 

He  drew  a  deep  breath  and  his  brow  lost  its  deepest 
shadow.  -"You  do  not  despise  me  then,"  he  exclaimed 
"  My  sin  has  not  utterly  blotted  me  out  of  your  regard  '  " 


506  THE    SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

The  glance  with  which  she  replied  seemed  to  fill  the 
whole  room  with  its  radiance.  "  I  am  only  beginning  to 
realize  the  worth  of  the  man  who  has  hitherto  been  a  mys- 
tery to  me,"  she  declared.  Then  as  he  shook  his  head, 
added  with  a  serious  air,  "The  question  with  all  true  hearts 
must  ever  be,  not  what  a  man  has  been,  but  what  he  is.  He 
who  for  the  sake  of  shielding  the  innocent  from  shame  and 
sorrow,  would  have  taken  upon  himself, the  onus  of  a  past 
disgrace,  is  not  unworthy  a  woman's  devotion." 

Mr.  Sylvester  smiled  mournfully,  and  stroked  her  hand 
which  he  had  taken  in  his.  "  Poor  little  one,"  he  murmured. 
"  I  know  not  whether  to  feel  proud  or  sorry  for  your  trust 
and  tender  devotion.  It  would  have  been  a  great  and  un- 
speakable grief  to  me  to  have  lost  your  regard,  but  it  might 
have  been  better  if  I  had ;  it  might  have  been  much  better 
for  you  if  I  had  \  " 

"  What,  why  do  you  say  that  ?  "  she  asked,  with  a  startled 
gleam  in  her  eye.  "Do  you  think  I  am  so  eager  for  ease 
and  enjoyment,  that  it  will  be  a  burden  for  me  to  bear  the 
pain  of  those  I  love  ?  A  past  pain,  too,"  she  added,  "  that 
will  grow  less  and  less  as  the  days  go  by  and  happiness  in- 
creases." 

He  put  her  back  with  a  quick  hand.  "  Do  not  make  it 
any  harder  for  me  than  necessary,"  he  entreated,  "  Do  you 
not  see  that  however  gentle  may  be  your  judgment  of  my 
deserts,  we  can  never  marry,  Paula  ?  " 

The  eyes  which  were  fixed  on  his,  deepened  passionately. 
"No,"  she  whispered,  "  no  ;  not  if  your  remorse  for  the  past 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  507 

is  all  that  separates  us.  The  man  who  has  conquered  him- 
self, has  won  the  right  to  conquer  the  heart  of  a  woman.  I 
can  say  no  more — "  She  timidly  held  out  her  hand. 

He  grasped  it  with  a  man's  impetuosity  and  pressed  it  to 
his  heart,  but  he  did  not  retain  it.  "  Blessings  upon  you, 
dear  and  noble  heart !  "  he  cried.  "  God  will  hear  my  prayers 
and  make  you  happy — but  not  with  me.  Paula,"  he  passion- 
ately continued,  taking  her  in  his  arms  and  holding  her  to 
his  breast,  "  it  cannot  be.  I  love  you — I  will  not,  dare  not 
say,  how  much — but  love  is  no  excuse  for  wronging  you. 
My  remorse  is  not  all  that  separates  us  ;  possible  disgrace 
lies  before  me ;  public  exposure  at  all  events  ;  I  would 
indeed  be  lacking  in  honor  were  I  to  subject  you  to  these." 

"  But,"  she  stammered,  drawing  back  to  look  into  his 
face,  "  I  thought  that  was  all  over ;  that  the  man  had  prom- 
ised silence  ;  that  you  were  henceforth  to  be  relieved  from 
his  persecutions  ?  I  am  sure  he  said  so." 

"  He  did,  but  he  forgot  that  my  fate  no  longer  rested 
upon  his  forbearance.  The  letter  which  records  my  admis- 
sion of  sin  was  in  his  lawyer's  hands,  Paula,  and  has  already 
been  despatched  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant.  Say  what  we  will, 
rebel  against  it  as  we  will,  Cicely's  father  knows  by  this  time 
that  the  name  of  Sylvester  is  not  spotless." 

The  cry  which  she  uttered  in  her  sudden  pain  and  loss 
made  him  stoop  over  her  with  despairing  fondness.  "  Hush  ! 
my  darling,  hush  !  "  cried  he.  "  The  trial  is  so  heavy,  I  need 
all  my  strength  to  meet  it.  It  breaks  my  heart  to  see  you 
grieve.  I  cannot  bear  it.  I  deserve  my  fate,  but  you — Oh 


508  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

you — what  have  you  done  that  you  should  be  overwhelmed 
in  my  fall !  "  Putting  her  gently  away  from  his  breast,  he 
drew  himself  up  and  with  forced  calmness  said,  "  I  have  yet 
to  inform  Mr.  Stuyvesant  upon  which  of  the  Sylvesters' 
should  rest  the  shadow  of  his  distrust.  To-night  he  believes 
in  Bertram's  lack  of  principle,  but  to-morrow — " 

Her  trembling  lips  echoed  the  word. 

"  He  shall  know  that  the  man  who  confessed  to  having 
done  a  wrong  deed  in  the  past,  is  myself,  Paula." 

The  head  which  had  fallen  on  her  breast,  rose  as  at  the 
call  of  a  clarion.  "  And  is  it  at  the  noblest  moment  of  your 
life  that  you  would  shut  me  away  from  your  side  ?  No,  no. 
Heaven  does  not  send  us  a  great  and  mighty  love  for  trivial 
purposes.  The  simple  country  maid  whom  you  have  some- 
times declared  was  as  the  bringer  of  good  news  to  you,  shall 
not  fail  you  now."  Then  slowly  and  with  solemn  assurance, 
"  If  you  go  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  to-morrow,  and  you  will,  for 
that  is  your  duty,  you  shall  not  go  alone ;  Paula  Fairchild 
accompanies  you." 


XLIV. 
IN  MR.  STUYVESANT'S  PARLORS 

*'  Was  I  deceived,  or  did  a  sable  cloud 
Turn  forth  her  silver  lining  on  the  night  ?  "       — COMUS. 

"UNWORTHY  ?" 

"Yes." 

Cicely  stared  at  her  father  with  wide-open  and  incredu- 
lous eyes.  "  I  cannot  believe  it,"  she  murmured ;  "  no,  I 
cannot  believe  it." 

Her  father  drew  up  a  chair  to  her  side.  "  My  daughter," 
said  he,  with  unusual  tenderness,  "  I  have  hesitated  to  tell 
you  this,  fearing  to  wound  you  ;  but  my  discretion  will  allow 
me  to  keep  silence  no  longer.  Bertram  Sylvester  is  not  an 
honest  man,  and  the  sooner  you  make  up  your  mind  to  for- 
get him,  the  better." 

"  Not  honest  ?  "  You  would  scarcely  have  recognized 
Cicely's  voice.  Her  father's  hand  trembled  as  he  drew  her 
back  to  his  side. 

"  It  is  a  hard  revelation  for  me  to  make  to  you,  after  tes- 
tifying my  approval  of  the  young  man.  I  sympathize  with 
you,  my  child,  but  none  the  less  I  expect  you  to  meet  this 
disappointment  bravely.  A  theft  has  been  committed  in  our 
bank—" 


5IQ  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  You  do  not  accuse  him  of  theft  !     Oh  father,  father  !  " 

"  No,"  he  stammered.  "  I  do  not  accuse  him,  but  facts 
look  very  strongly  against  some  one  in  our  trust,  and — " 

"  But  that  is  not  sufficient,"  she  cried,  rising  in  spite  of 
his  detaining  hand  till  she  stood  erect  before  him.  "You 
surely  would  not  allow  any  mere  circumstantial  evidence  to 
stand  against  a  character  as  unblemished  as  his,  even  if  he 
were  not  the  man  whom  your  daughter — " 

He  would  not  let  her  continue.  "  I  admit  that  I  should 
be  careful  how  I  breathed  suspicion  against  a  man  whose 
record  was  unimpeached,"  he  assented,  "  but  Bertram  Syl- 
vester does  not  enjoy  that  position.  Indeed,  I  have  just 
received  a  communication  which  goes  to  show,  that  he  once 
actually  acknowledged  to  having  perpetrated  an  act  of 
questionable  integrity.  Now  a  man  as  young  as  he,  who — " 

"  But  I  cannot  believe  it,"  she  moaned.  "  It  is  impossible, 
clearly  impossible.  How  could  he  look  me  in  the  face  with 
such  a  sin  on  his  conscience  !  He  could  not,  simply  could 
not.  Why,  father,  his  brow  is  as  open  as  the  day,  his  glance 
clear  and  unwavering  as  the  sunlight.  It  is  some  dreadful 
mistake.  It  is  not  Bertram  of  whom  you  are  speaking  !  " 

Her  father  sighed.  "  Of  whom  else  should  it  be  ?  Come 
my  child,  do  you  want  to  read  the  communication  which  I 
received  last  night  ?  Do  you  want  to  be  convinced  ?  " 

"  No,  no  ; "  she  cried  ;  but  quickly  contradicted  herself 
with  a  hurried,  "Yes,  yes,  let  me  be  made  acquainted  with 
what  there  is  against  him,  if  only  that  I  may  prove  to  you  it 
is  all  a  mistake." 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  $11 

"  There  is  no  mistake,"  he  muttered,  handing  her  a 
folded  paper.  "  This  statement  was  written  two  years  ago  ; 
I  witnessed  it  myself,  though  I  little  knew  against  whose 
honor  it  was  directed.  Read  it,  Cicely,  and  then  remember 
that  I  have  lost  bonds  out  of  my  box  at  the  bank,  that  could 
only  have  been  taken  by  some  one  connected  with  the  insti- 
tution." 

She  took  the  paper  in  her  hand,  and  eagerly  read  it 
through.  Suddenly  she  started  and  looked  up.  "  And  you 
say  that  this  was  Bertram,  this  gentleman  who  allowed 
another  man  to  accuse  him  of  a  past  dishonesty  ? " 

"  So  the  person  declares  who  forwarded  me  this  state- 
ment ;  and  though  he  is  a  poor  wretch  and  evidently  not 
above  making  mischief,  I  do  not  know  as  we  have  any 
special  reason  to  doubt  his  word." 

Cicely's  eyes  fell  and  she  stood  before  her  father  with  an 
air  of  indecision.  "  I  do  not  think  it  was  Bertram,"  she 
faltered,  but  said  no  more. 

"  I  would  to  God  for  your  sake,  it  was  not !  "  he  ex- 
claimed. "But  this  communication  together  with  the  loss 
we  have  sustained  at  the  bank,  has  shaken  my  faith,  Cicely. 
Young  men  are  so  easily  led  astray  nowadays  ;  especially 
when  playing  for  high  stakes.  A  man  who  could  leave  his 
profession  for  the  sake  of  winning  a  great  heiress — " 

"  Father  !  " 

"  I  know  he  has  made  you  think  it  was  for  love ;  but 
when  the  woman  whom  a  young  man  fancies,  is  rich,  love 
and  ambition  run  too  closely  together  to  be  easily  disen- 


512  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

tangled.  And  now,  my  dear,  I  have  said  my  say  and  leave 
you  to  act  according  to  the  dictates  of  your  judgment,  sure 
that  it  will  be  in  a  direction  worthy  of  your  name  and  breed- 
ing." And  stooping  for  a  hasty  kiss,  he  gave  her  a  last  fond 
look  and  quietly  left  the  room. 

And  Cicely  ?  For  a  moment  she  stood  as  if  frozen  in 
her  place,  then  a  great  tremble  seized  her,  and  sinking  down 
upon  a  sofa,  she  buried  her  face  from  sight,  in  a  chaos  of 
feeling  that  left  her  scarcely  mistress  of  herself.  But  sud- 
denly she  started  up,  her  face  flushed,  her  eyes  gleaming,  her 
whole  delicate  form  quivering  with  an  emotion  more  akin  to 
hope  than  despair. 

"  I  cannot  doubt  him,"  she  whispered  ;  "  it  were  as  easy 
to  doubt  my  own  soul.  He  is  worthy  if  I  am  worthy,  true  if 
I  am  true  ;  and  I  will  not  try  to  unlove  him  !  " 

But  soon  the  reaction  came  again,  and  she  was  about  to 
give  full  sway  to  her  grief  and  shame,  when  the  parlor  door 
opened — she  herself  was  sitting  in  the  extension  room — and 
she  saw  Mr.  Sylvester  and  Paula  come  in.  She  at  once 
rose  to  her  feet ;  but  she  did  not  advance.  A  thousand 
hopes  and  fears  held  her  enchained  where  she  was ;  besides 
there  was  something  in  the  aspect  of  her  friends,  which  made 
her  feel  as  though  a  welcome  even  from  her,  would  at  that 
moment  be  an  intrusion. 

"  They  have  come  to  see  father,"  she  thought  "  and — " 

Ah  what,  Cicely  ? 

Paula,  who  was  too  absorbed  in  her  own  feelings  to 
glance  into  the  extension  room  beyond,  approached  Mr. 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  513 

Sylvester  and  laid  her  hand  upon  his  arm.  "Whatever 
comes,"  said  she,  "  truth,  honor  and  love  remain." 

And  he  bowed  his  head  and  seemed  to  kiss  her  hand,  and 
Cicely  observing  the  action,  grew  pale  and  dropped  her  eyes, 
realizing  as  by  a  lightning's  flash,  both  the  nature  of  the  feeling 
that  prompted  this  unusual  manifestation  on  his  part,  and  the 
possible  sorrows  that  lay  before  her  dearest  friend,  if  not  be- 
fore herself,  should  the  secret  suspicions  she  cherished  in  re- 
gard to  Mr.  Sylvester  prove  true.  When  she  had  summoned  up 
courage  to  glance  again  in  their  direction,  Mr.  Stuyvesant  had 
entered  the  parlor  and  was  nervously  welcoming  his  guests. 

Mr.  Sylvester  waited  for  no  preamble.  "  I  have  come," 
said  he,  in  his  most  even  and  determined  tones,  "  to  speak  to 
you  in  regard  to  a  communication  from  a  man  by  the  name 
of  Holt,  which  I  was  told  was  to  be  sent  to  you  last  even- 
ing. Did  you  receive  such  a  one  ?  " 

Mr.  Stuyvesant  flushed,  grew  still  more  nervous  in  his 
manner  and  uttered  a  short,  "  I  did,"  in  a  tone  severer  than 
he  perhaps  intended. 

"  It  will  not  be  too  much  for  me,  then,  to  conclude,  that 
in  your  present  estimation  my  nephew  stands  committed  to 
a  past  dishonesty  ?  " 

"  It  has  been  one  of  my  chief  sources  of  regret — one  of 
them  I  say,"  repeated  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  "  that  any  loss  of 
esteem  on  the  part  of  your  nephew,  must  necessarily  reflect 
upon  the  peace  if  not  the  honor  of  a  man  I  hold  in  such  high 
regard  as  yourself.  I  assure  you  I  feel  it  quite  as  a  brother 
might,  quite  as  a  brother." 


THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Mr.  Sylvester  at  once  rose.  "  Mr.  Stuyvesant,"  declared 
he,  "  my  nephew  is  as  honest  a  man  as  walks  this  city's 
streets.  If  you  will  accord  me  a  few  minutes  private  con- 
versation, I  think  I  can  convince  you  so." 

"  I  should  be  very  glad,"  replied  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  glanc- 
ing towards  the  extension-room  where  he  had  left  his 
daughter.  "  I  have  always  liked  the  young  man."  Then 
•with  a  quick  look  in  the  other's  face,  "You  are  not  well,  Mr. 
Sylvester  ?" 

"  Thank  you,  I  am  not  ill ;  let  us  say  what  we  have  to,  at 
once,  if  you  please."  And  with  just  a  glance  at  Paula,  he 
followed  the  now  somewhat  agitated  director  from  the  room. 

Cicely  who  had  started  forward  at  their  departure,  glanced 
down  the  long  parlor  before  her,  and  hastily  faltered  back  ; 
Paula  was  praying.  But  in  a  few  moments  her  feelings 
overcame  her  timidity,  and  hurrying  into  her  friend's  pres- 
ence, she  threw  her  arms  about  her  neck  and  pressed  her 
cheek  to  hers.  "  Let  us  pray  together,"  she  whispered. 

Paula  drew  back  and  looked  her  friend  in  the  face 
"  You  know  what  all  this  means  ?  "  she  asked. 

"  I  guess."  was  the  low  reply. 

Paula  checked  a  sob  and  clasped  Cicely  to  her  boson1. 
"  He  loves  me,"  she  faltered,  "  and  he  is  doing  at  this  mo- 
ment what  he  believes  will  separate  us.  He  is  a  noble  man, 
Cicely,  noble  as  Bertram,  though  he  once  did — "  She 
paused.  "  It  is  for  him  to  say  what,  not  I,"  she  softly  con- 
cluded. 

"  Then  Bertram  is  noble,"  Cicely  timidly  put  in. 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  $1$ 

"  Have  you  ever  doubted  it  ?  " 

"  No." 

And  hiding  their  blushes  on  each  other's  shoulders,  the 
two  girls  sat  breathlessly  waiting,  while  the  clock  ticked 
away  in  the  music-room  and  the  moments  came  and  went 
that  determined  their  fate.  Suddenly  they  both  rose.  Mr. 
Stuyvesant  and  Mr.  Sylvester  were  descending  the  stairs. 
Mr.  Sylvester  came  in  first.  Walking  straight  up  to  Paula, 
he  took  her  in  his  arms  and  kissed  her  on  the  forehead. 

"  My  betrothed  wife  !  "  he  whispered. 

With  a  start  of  incredulous  joy,  Paula  looked  up.  His 
glance  was  clear  but  strangely  solemn  and  peaceful. 

*'  He  has  heard  all  I  had  to  say,"  added  he ;  "  he  is  a 
just  man,  but  he  is  also  a  merciful  one.  Like  you  he  de- 
clares that  not  what  a  man  was,  but  what  he  is,  determines 
the  judgment  of  true  men  concerning  him."  And  taking  her 
on  his  arm,  he  stood  waiting  for  Mr.  Stuyvesant  who  now 
came  in. 

"  Where  is  my  daughter  ?  "  were  that  gentleman's  words, 
as  he  closed  the  door  behind  him. 

"  Here,  papa." 

He  held  out  his  hand,  and  she  sprang  towards  him. 
"  Cicely,"  said  he,  not  without  some  tokens  of  emotion  in  his 
voice,  "  it  is  only  right  that  I  should  inform  you  that  we 
were  all  laboring  under  a  mistake,  in  charging  Mr.  Bertram 
Sylvester  with  the  words  that  were  uttered  in  the  Dey  Street 
coffee-house  two  years  ago.  Mr.  Sylvester  has  amply  con- 
vinced me  that  his  nephew  neither  was,  nor  could  have  been 


5l6  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

present  there  at  that  time.  It  must  have  been  some  other 
man,  of  similar  personality." 

"  Oh  thank  you,  thank  you  !  "  Cicely's  look  seemed  to  say 
to  Mr.  Sylvester.  "  And  he  is  quite  freed  from  reproach  ?  " 
she  asked,  with  a  smiling  glance  into  her  father's  face. 

A  hesitancy  in  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  manner,  struck  with  a 
chill  upon  more  than  one  heart  in  that  room. 

"  Yes,"  he  admitted  at  last ;  "  the  mere  fact  that  a  mys- 
terious robbery  has  been  committed  upon  certain  effects  in 
the  bank  of  which  he  is  cashier,  is  not  sufficient  to  awaken 
distrust  as  to  his  integrity,  but — " 

At  that  moment  the  door-bell  rung. 

"Your  father  would  say,"  cried  Mr.  Sylvester,  taking  ad- 
vantage of  the  momentary  break,  to  come  to  the  relief  of  his 
host,  "that  my  nephew  is  too  much  of  a  gentleman  to  desire 
to  press  any  claim  he  may  imagine  himself  as  possessing  over 
you,  while  even  the  possibility  of  a  shadow  rests  upon  his 
name. 

"  The  man  who  stole  the  bonds  will  be  found,"  said  Cicely. 

And  as  if  in  echo  to  her  words  the  parlor  door  opened, 
and  a  messenger  from  the  bank  stepped  briskly  up  to  Mr. 
Stuyvesant. 

"  A  note  from  Mr.  Folger,"  said  he,  with  a  quick  glance 
at  Mr.  Sylvester. 

Mr.  Stuyvesant  took  the  paper  handed  him,  read  it  hastily 
through,  and  looked  up  \vith  an  air  of  some  bewilderment. 

"  I  can  hardly  believe  it  possible,"  cried  he,  "  but  Hop- 
good  has  absconded." 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  $1? 

"  Hopgood  absconded  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  is  not  that  the  talk  at  the  bank  ?  "  inquired  Mr. 
Stuyvesant,  turning  to  the  messenger. 

"  Yes  sir.  He  has  not  been  seen  since  yesterday  after- 
noon when  he  left  before  the  bank  was  closed  for  the  night. 
His  wife  says  she  thinks  he  meant  to  run  away,  for  before 
going,  he  came  into  the  room  where  she  was,  kissed  her  and 
then  kissed  the  child  ;  besides  it  seems  that  he  took  with 
him  some  of  his  clothes." 

"  Humph  !  and  I  had  as  much  confidence  in  that  man — " 

"  As  I  have  now,"  came  from  Mr.  Sylvester  as  the  door 
closed  upon  the  messenger.  "  If  Hopgood  has  run  away,  it 
was  from  some  generous  but  mistaken  idea  of  sacrificing 
himself  to  the  safety  of  another  whom  he  may  possibly  be- 
lieve guilty." 

"  No,"  rejoined  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  "  for  here  is  a  note  from 
him  that  refutes  that  supposition."  It  is  addressed  to  me 
and  runs  thus  : 

"  DEAR  SIR. — I  beg  your  pardon  and  that  of  Mr.  Syl- 
vester for  leaving  my  duties  in  this  abrupt  manner.  But  I 
have  betrayed  my  trust  and  am  no  longer  worthy  of  confi- 
dence. I  am  a  wretched  man  and  find  it  impossible  to  face 
those  who  have  believed  in  my  honesty  and  discretion.  If  I 
can  bring  the  money  back,  you  shall  see  me  again,  but  if  not, 
be  kind  to  my  wife  and  little  one,  for  the  sake  of  the  three 
years  when  I  served  the  bank  faithfully. 

"  JOHN  HOPGOOD." 


THE   SWO.RD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  I  don't  understand  it,"  cried  Mr.  Sylvester,  "  that 
looks — " 

"  As  if  he  knew  where  the  money  was." 

"  I  begin  to  hope,"  breathed  Cicely. 

Her  father  turned  and  surveyed  her.  "  This  puts  a  new 
aspect  on  matters,"  said  he. 

She  glanced  up  beaming.  "  Oh,  will  you,  do  you  say, 
that  you  think  the  shadow  of  this  crime  has  at  last  found 
the  spot  upon  which  it  can  rightfully  rest  ?  " 

"  It  would  not  be  common  sense  in  me  to  deny  that  it 
has  most  certainly  shifted  its  position." 

With  a  radiant  look  at  Cicely,  Paula  crossed  to  Mr. 
Stuyvesant's  side,  and  laying  her  hand  on  his  sleeve,  whis- 
pered a  word  or  two  in  his  ear.  He  immediately  glanced 
out  of  the  window  at  the  carriage  standing  before  the  door, 
then  looked  back  at  her  and  nodded  with  something  like  a 
smile.  In  another  moment  he  stood  at  the  front  door. 

"  Be  prepared,"  cried  Paula  to  Cicely. 

It  was  well  she  spoke,  for  when  in  an  instant  later  Mr. 
Stuyvesant  re-entered  the  parlor  with  Bertram  at  his  side, 
the  rapidly  changing  cheek  of  the  gentle  girl  showed  that 
the  surprise,  even  though  thus  tempered,  was  almost  too 
much  for  her  self-possession. 

Mr.  Stuyvesant  did  not  wait  for  the  inevitable  embarrass- 
ment of  the  moment  to  betray  itself  in  words.  "  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter," said  he,  to  the  young  cashier,  "we  have  just  received 
a  piece  of  news  from  the  bank,  that  throws  unexpected 
light  upon  the  robbery  we  were  discussing  yesterday.  Hop- 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  $19 

good  has  absconded,  and  acknowledges  here  in  writing  that 
he  had  something  to  do  with  the  theft  !  " 

"  Hopgood,  the  janitor  !  "  The  exclamation  was  di- 
rected not  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant  but  to  Mr.  Sylvester,  towards 
whom  Bertram  turned  with  looks  of  amazement. 

"  Yes,  it  is  the  greatest  surprise  I  ever  received,"  returned 
that  gentleman. 

"  And  Mr.  Sylvester,"  continued  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  with 
nervous  rapidity  and  a  generous  attempt  to  speak  lightly, 
"  there  is  a  little  lady  here  who  is  so  shaken  by  the  news, 
that  nothing  short  of  a  word  of  reassurance  on  your  part 
will  comfort  her." 

Bertram's  eye  followed  that  of  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  and  fell 
upon  the  blushing  cheek  of  Cicely.  With  a  flushing  of  his 
own  brow,  he  stepped  hastily  forward. 

"  Miss  Stuyvesant  !  "  he  cried,  and  looking  down  in  her 
face,  forgot  everything  else  in  his  infinite  joy  and  satisfac- 
tion. 

"•  Yes,"  announced  the  father  with  abrupt  decision,  "she 
is  yours  ;  you  have  fairly  earned  her." 

Bertram  bowed  his  head  with  irrepressible  emotion,  and 
for  a  moment  the  silence  of  perfect  peace  if  not  of  awe, 
'reigned  over  the  apartment ;  but  suddenly  a  low,  determined 
"  No  !  "  was  heard,  and  Bertram  turning  towards  Mr.  Stuy- 
vesant, exclaimed,  "  You  are  very  good,  and  the  joy  of  this 
moment  atones  for  many  an  hour  of  grief  and  impatience  ; 
but  I  have  not  earned  her  yet.  The  fact  that  Hopgood  ad- 
mits to  having  had  something  to  do  with  the  robbery,  does 


$20  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

not  sufficiently  exonerate  the  officers  of  the  bank  from  all 
connection  with  the  affair,  to  make  it  safe  or  honorable  in 
me  to  unqualifiedly  accept  the  inestimable  boon  of  your 
daughter's  regard.  Till  the  real  culprit  is  in  custody  and 
the  mystery  entirely  cleared  away,  my  impatience  must  con- 
tinue to  curb  itself.  I  love  your  daughter  too  dearly  to 
bring  her  anything  but  the  purest  of  reputations.  Am  I  not 
right,  Miss  Stuyvesant  ?  " 

She  cast  a  glance  at  her  father,  and  bowed  her  head. 
"  You  are  right,"  she  repeated. 

And  Mr.  Stuyvesant,  with  a  visible  lightening  of  his  whole 
aspect,  took  the  young  man  by  the  hand,  and  with  as  much 
geniality  as  his  nature  would  allow,  informed  him  that  he 
was  at  last  convinced  that  his  daughter  had  made  no  mis- 
take when  she  expressed  her  trust  in  Bertram  Sylvester. 

And  in  other  eyes  than  Cicely's,  shone  the  light  of 
satisfied  love  and  unswerving  faith. 


XLV. 

"  THE    HOUR    OF    SIX    IS   SACRED." 

"  Mightier  far 

Than  strength  of  nerve  or  sinew,  or  the  sway 
Of  magic  potent  over  sun  and  star, 
Is  love,  though  oft  to  agony  distrest, 
And  though  its  favorite  seat  be  feeble  woman's  breast." 

— WORDSWORTH. 

IT  was  at  the  close  of  a  winter  afternoon.  Paula  who 
had  returned  to  Grotewell  for  the  few  weeks  preceding  her 
marriage,  sat  musing  in  the  window  of  her  aunt's  quaint  lit- 
tle parlor.  Her  eyes  were  on  the  fields  before  her  all  rosy 
with  the  departing  rays  of  the  sun,  but  her  thoughts  were  far 
away.  They  were  with  him  she  best  loved — with  Cicely,  wait- 
ing in  patience  for  the  solution  of  the  mystery  of  the  stolen 
bonds ;  with  Bertram,  eagerly,  but  as  yet  vainly,  engaged  in 
searching  for  the  vanished  janitor;  and  last  but  not  least, 
with  that  poor,  wretched  specimen  of  humanity  moaning 
away  her  life  in  a  New  York  hospital ; — for  the  sight  of  the 
Japha  house,  in  a  walk  that  day,  had  reawakened  her  most 
vivid  remembrances  of  Jacqueline.  All  that  had  ever  been 
done  and  suffered  by  this  forsaken  creature,  lay  on  her  heart 
like  a  weight  ;  and  the  question  which  had  disturbed  her 
since  her  return  to  Grotewell,  viz.,  whether  or  not  she  ought 
to  acquaint  Mrs.  Hamlin  with  the  fact  that  she  had  seen  and 


522  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

spoken  to  the  object  of  her  love  and  prayers,  pressed  upon 
her  mind  with  an  insistence  that  required  an  answer.  There 
was  so  much  to  be  said  for  and  against  it.  Mrs.  Hamlin  was 
not  well,  and  though  still  able  to  continue  her  vigil,  showed 
signs  of  weakening,  day  by  day.  It  might  be  a  comfort  to 
her  to  know  that  another's  eyes  had  rested  on  the  haggard 
form  for  whose  approach  she  daily  watched  ;  that  another's 
kiss  had  touched  the  scarred  and  pallid  forehead  she  longed 
to  fold  against  her  breast  ;  that  the  woman  she  loved  and  of 
whose  fate  she  had  no  intimation,  was  living  and  well  cared 
for,  though  her  shelter  was  that  of  a  hospital,  and  her  pros- 
pects those  of  the  grave. 

On  the  other  hand,  the  awful  nature  of  the  circumstances 
which  had  brought  her  to  her  present  condition,  were  such 
as  to  make  any  generous  heart  pause  before  shocking  the 
love  and  trust  of  such  a  woman  as  Mrs.  Hamlin,  by  a  rela- 
tion of  the  criminal  act  by  which  Jacqueline  had  slain  her 
child  and  endangered  her  own  existence.  Better  let  the 
poor  old  lady  go  on  hoping  against  hope  till  she  sinks  into 
her  grave,  than  destroy  life  and  hope  at  once  by  a  revelation 
of  her  darling's  reckless  depravity. 

And  yet  if  the  poor  creature  in  the  hospital  might  be 
moved  to  repentance  by  some  word  from  Mrs.  Hamlin, 
would  it  not  be  a  kindness  to  the  latter  to  allow  her,  though 
even  at  the  risk  of  her  life,  to  accomplish  the  end  for  which 
she  indeed  professed  to  live  ? 

The  mind  of  Paula  was  as  yet  undecided,  when  a  child 
from  the  village  passed  the  window,  and  seeing  her  sitting 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  $2$ 

there,  handed  her  a  small  package  with  the  simple  message 
that  Mrs.  Hamlin  was  very  ill.  It  contained,  as  she  antici- 
pated, the  great  key  to  the  Japha  mansion,  and  understanding 
without  further  words,  what  was  demanded  of  her,  Paula 
prepared  to  keep  the  promise  she  had  long  ago  made  to  this 
devoted  woman.  For  though  she  knew  the  uselessness  of 
the  vigil  proposed  to  her,  she  none  the  less  determined  to 
complete  it.  Easier  to  sit  an  hour  in  that  dark  old  house, 
than  to  explain  herself  to  Mrs.  Hamlin.  Besides,  the  time 
was  good  for  prayer,  and  God  knows  the  wretched  object  of 
all  this  care  and  anxiety,  stood  in  need  of  all  the  petitions 
that  might  be  raised  for  her. 

Telling  her  aunts  that  she  had  a  call  to  make  in  the  vil- 
lage, she  glided  hurriedly  away,  and  ere  she  realized  all  to 
which  she  was  committed,  found  herself  standing  in  the 
now  darkened  streets,  before  the  grim  door  of  that  dread 
and  mysterious  mansion.  Never  had  it  looked  more  for- 
bidding; never  had  the  two  gruesome  poplars  cast  a  deeper 
shadow,  or  rustled  with  a  more  woful  sound  in  the  chill 
evening  air.  The  very  windows  seemed  to  repel  her  with 
their  darkened  panes,  behind  which  she  could  easily  im- 
agine the  spirits  of  the  dead,  moving  and  peering.  A  chill 
not  unlike  that  of  terror,  assailed  her  limbs,  and  it  was  with 
a  really  heroic  action  that  she  finally  opened  the  gate  and 
glided  up  the  path  made  by  the  daily  steps  of  her  aged, 
friend.  To  thrust  the  big  key  into  the  lock  required  another 
effort,  but  that  once  accomplished,  she  stilled  every  tumul- 
tuous beating  of  her  heart,  by  crying  under  her  breath 


524  THE    SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  She  has  done  this  for  one  whom  she  has  not  seen  for  fif- 
teen years  ;  shall  I  then  hesitate,  who  know  the  real  neces- 
sity of  her  for  whom  this  hour  is  made  sacred  ?  " 

The  slow  swinging  open  of  the  door  was  like  an  ushering 
into  the  abode  of  ghosts,  but  she  struck  a  light  at  once,  and 
soon  had  the  satisfaction  of  beholding  the  dismal  room  with 
its  weird  shadows,  resolve  into  its  old  and  well  remembered 
aspect.  The  ancient  cabinet  and  stiff  hair-cloth  sofa,  Colo- 
nel Japha's  chair  by  the  table,  together  with  all  the  other 
objects  that  had  attracted  her  attention  in  her  former  visit, 
confronted  her  again  with  the  same  appearance  of  standing 
ready  and  waiting,  which  had  previously  so  thrilled  her. 
Only  she  was  alone  this  time,  and  terror  mingled  with  her 
awe.  She  scarcely  dared  to  glance  at  the  doors  that  led  to 
other  portions  of  the  house.  In  her  present  mood  it  would 
seem  so  natural  for  them  to  swing  open,  and  let  upon  her 
horrified  gaze  the  stately  phantom  of  the  proud  old  colonel 
or  the  gentler  shade  of  Jacqueline's  mother.  The  moan 
of  the  wind  in  the  chimney  was  dreadful  to  her,  and  the 
faint  rumbling  sounds  of  mice  scampering  in  the  walls,  made 
her  start  as  though  a  voice  had  spoken. 

But  presently  the  noise  of  a  sleigh  careering  by  the 
house  recalled-  her  to  herself,  and  remembering  it  was  but 
early  nightfall,  she  sat  down  in  a  chair  by  the  door,  and  pre- 
pared to  keep  her  vigil  with  suitable  patience  and  equanimity. 
Suddenly  she  recollected  the  clock  on  the  mantelpiece  and 
how  she  had  seen  Mrs.  Hamlin  wind  it,  and  rising  up,  she 
followed  her  example,  sighing  unconsciously  to  find  how 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  525 

many  of  the  sixty  minutes  had  yet  to  tick  themselves  away. 
"  Can  I  endure  it !  "  she  thought,  and  shuddered  as  she  pic- 
tured to  herself  the  dim  old  staircase  behind  those  doors, 
and  the  empty  rooms  above,  and  the  little  Bible  lying  thicker 
than  ever  with  dust,  on  the  yellowed  pillows  of  Jacqueline's 
bed. 

Suddenly  she  stood  still ;  the  noise  she  had  just  heard, 
was  not  made  by  the  pattering  of  mice  along  the  rafters,  or 
even  the  creaking  of  the  withered  vines  that  clung  against 
the  walls  !  It  was  a  human  sound,  a  clicking  as  of  the  gate 
without,  a  crunching  as  of  feet  dragging  slowly  over  the 
snow.  Was  Mrs.  Hamlin  coming  after  all,  or — she  could 
not  formulate  her  fear;  a  real  and  palpable  danger  from  the 
outside  world  had  never  crossed  her  fancy  till  now.  What  if 
some  stranger  should  enter,  some  tramp,  some — a  step  on  the 
porch  without  made  her  hair  rise  on  her  forehead  ;  she 
clasped  her  hands  and  stood  trembling,  when  a  sudden 
moan  startled  her  ears,  followed  by  the  sound  of  a  heavy  fall 
on  the  threshold,  and  throwing  aside  all  hesitation,  she  flung 
herself  forward,  and  tearing  open  the  door,  saw — oh,  angels 
that  rejoice  in  heaven  over  one  sinner  that  repenteth,  let 
your  voices  go  up  in  praise  this  night,  for  Jacqueline  Japha 
has  returned  to  the  home  of  her  fathers  ! 

She  had  fainted,  and  lay  quite  still  on  the  threshold,  but 
Paula,  who  was  all  energy  now,  soon  had  her  in  the  centre  of 
the  sitting-room,  and  was  applying  to  her  such  restoratives 
as  had  been  provided  against  this  very  emergency.  She 
was  holding  the  poor  weary  head  on  her  knee,  when  the  wan 


526  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

eyes  opened,  and  looking  up,  grew  wild  with  a  disappoint- 
ment which  Paula  was  quick  to  appreciate. 

"  You  are  looking  for  Margery,"  said  she.  "  Margery 
will  come  by-and-by ;  she  is  not  well  to-night  and  I  am 
taking  her  place,  but  when  she  hears  you  have  returned,  it 
will  take  more  than  sickness  to  keep  her  to  her  bed.  I  am 
Paula,  and  I  love  you,  too,  and  welcome  you — oh,  welcome 
you  so  gladly." 

The  yearning  look  which  had  crept  into  the  woman's 
bleared  and  faded  eyes,  deepened  and  softened  strangely. 

"  You  are  the  one  who  told  me  about  Margery,"  said 
she,  "  and  bade  me  bring  my  baby  here  to  be  buried.  I 
remember,  though  I  seemed  to  pay  no  heed  then.  Night 
and  day  through  all  my  pain,  I  have  remembered,  and  as  soon 
as  I  could  walk,  stole  away  from  the  hospital.  It  has  killed 
me,  but  I  shall  at  least  die  in  my  father's  house." 

Paula  stooped  and  kissed  her.  "  I  am  going  to  get  your 
bed  ready,"  said  she.  And  without  any  hesitation  now,  she 
opened  the  door  that  led  into  those  dim  inner  regions  that 
but  a  few  minutes  before  had  inspired  her  with  such  dread. 

She  went  straight  to  Jacqueline's  room.  "  It  must  all  be 
according  to  Mrs.  Hamlin's  wishes,"  she  cried,  and  lit  the 
fire  on  the  hearth,  and  pulled  back  the  curtains  yet  farther 
from  the  bed,  and  gave  the  benefit  of  her  womanly  touch  to 
the  various  objects  about  her,  till  cheerfulness  seemed  to 
reign  in  a  spot  once  so  peopled  with  hideous  memories. 
Going  back  to  Jacqueline,  she  helped  her  to  rise,  and  throw- 
ing her  arm  about  her  waist,  led  her  into  the  hall.  But  here 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  527 

memory,  ghastly  accusing  memory,  stepped  in,  and  catching 
the  wretched  woman  in  its  grasp,  shook  her,  body  and  soul, 
till  her  shrieks  reverberated  through  that  desolate  house. 
But  Paula  with  gentle  persistence  urged  her  on,  and  smiling 
upon  her  like  an  angel  of  peace  and  mercy,  led  her  up  step 
after  step  of  that  dreadful  staircase,  till  at  last  she  saw  her 
safely  in  the  room  of  her  early  girlhood. 

The  sight  of  it  seemed  at  first  to  horrify  but  afterwards 
to  soothe  the  forlorn  being  thus  brought  face  to  face  with 
her  own  past.  She  moved  over  to  the  fire  and  held  out  her 
two  cramped  hands  to  the  blaze,  as  if  she  saw  an  altar  of 
mercy  in  its  welcoming  glow.  From  these  she  passed  tot- 
tering and  weak  to  the  embroidery-frame,  which  she  looked 
at  for  a  moment  with  something  almost  like  a  smile ;  but  she 
hurried  by  the  mirror,  and  scarcely  glanced  at  a  portrait  of 
herself  which  hung  on  the  wall  over  her  head.  To  sink  on 
the  bed  seemed  to  be  her  object,  and  thither  Paula  accom- 
panied her.  But  when  she  came  to  where  it  stood,  and  saw 
the  clothes  turned  down  and  the  pillows  heaped  at  the  head, 
and  the  little  Bible  lying  open  for  her  in  the  midst,  she  gave 
a  great  and  mighty  sob,  and  flinging  herself  down  upon  her 
knees,  wept  with  a  breaking  up  of  her  whole  nature,  in  which 
her  sins,  red  though  they  were  as  crimson,  seemed  to  feel  the 
touch  of  the  Divine  love,  and  vanish  away  in  the  oblivion 
He  prepares  for  all  His  penitent  ones. 

When  everything  was  prepared  and  Jacqueline  was  laid 
quiet  in  bed,  Paula  stole  out  and  down  the  stairs  and 
wended  her  way  to  Mrs.  Hamlin's  cottage.  She  found  her 


528  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

sitting  up,  but  far  from  well,  and  very  feeble.  At  the  first 
sight  of  Paula's  face,  she  started  erect  and  seem  to  forget 
her  weakness  in  a  moment. 

"  What  is  it  ?  "  she  asked  ;  "  you  look  as  though  you  had 
been  gazing  on  the  faces  of  angels.  Has  —  has  my  hope 
come  true  at  last  ?  Has  Jacqueline  returned  ?  Oh,  has  my 
poor,  lost,  erring  child  come  back  ?  " 

Paula  drew  near  and  gently  steadied  Mrs.  Hamlin's  sway- 
ing form.  "  Yes,"  she  smiled  ;  and  with  the  calmness  of  one 
who  has  entered  the  gates  of  peace,  whispered  in  low  and 
reverent  tones  :  "  She  lies  in  the  bed  that  you  spread  for 
her,  with  the  Bible  held  close  to  her  breast." 

There  are  moments  when  the  world  about  us  seems  to 
pause ;  when  the  hopes,  fears  and  experiences  of  all  hu- 
manity appear  to  sway  away  and  leave  us  standing  alone  in 
the  presence  of  our  own  great  hope  or  scarcely  compre- 
hended fear.  Such  a  moment  was  that  which  saw  Paula  re- 
enter  Jacqueline's  presence  with  Mrs.  Hamlin  at  her  side. 

Leaving  the  latter  near  the  door,  she  went  towards  the 
bed.  Why  did  she  recoil  and  glance  back  at  Mrs.  Hamlin 
with  that  startled  and  apprehensive  look  ?  The  face  of 
Jacqueline  was  changed  —  changed  as  only  one  presence 
could  change  it,  though  the  eyes  were  clearer  than  when 
she  left  her  a  few  minutes  before,  and  the  lips  were  not 
without  the  shadow  of  a  smile. 

"She  is  dying,"  whispered  Paula,  coming  back  to  Mrs. 
Hamlin ;  "  dying,  and  you  have  waited  so  long  !  " 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  S29 

But  the  look  that  met  hers  from  that  aged  face,  was  not 
one  of  grief;  and  startled,  she  knew  not  why,  Paula  drew 
aside,  while  Mrs.  Hamlin  crossed  the  room  and  quietly 
knelt  down  by  her  darling's  side. 

"  Margery  !  " 

"  Jacqueline  !  " 

The  two  cries  rang  through  the  room,  then  all  was  quiet 
again. 

"  You  have  come  back !  "  were  the  next  words  Paula 
heard.  "  How  could  I  ever  have  doubted  that  you  would  !  " 

"  I  have  been  driven  back  by  awful  suffering,"  was  the 
answer;  and  another  silence  fell.  Suddenly  Jacqueline's 
voice  was  heard.  "  Love  slew  me,  and  now  love  has  saved 
me  !  "  exclaimed  she.  And  there  came  no  answer  to  that 
cry,  and  Paula  felt  the  shadow  of  a  great  awe  settle  down 
upon  her,  and  moving  nearer  to  where  the  aged  woman 
knelt  by  her  darling's  bedside,  she  looked  in  her  bended  face 
and  then  in  the  one  upturned  on  the  pillow,  and  knew  that 
of  all  the  hearts  that  but  an  instant  before  had  beat  with 
earth's  deepest  emotion  in  that  quiet  room,  one  alone 
throbbed  on  to  thank  God  and  take  courage. 

And  the  fire  which  had  been  kindled  to  welcome  the 
prodigal  back,  burned  on  ;  and  from  the  hollow  depths  of 
the  great  room  below,  came  the  sound  of  a  clock  as  it  struck 
the  hour,  seven  ! 


XLVT. 

THE    MAN    CUMMINS. 

44  Oh  day  and  night,  but  this  is  wondrous  strange." — HENRY  V. 
44  Shut  up  in  measureless  content." — OTHELLO. 

THE  lights  were  yet  shining  in  Mr.  Stuyvesant's  parlors, 
though  the  guests  were  gone,  who  but  a  short  time  before 
had  assembled  there  to  witness  the  marriage  of  Cicely's  dear 
friend,  Paula. 

At  one  end  of  the  room  stood  Mr.  Sylvester  and  Ber- 
tram, the  former  gazing  with  the  eyes  of  a  bridegroom,  at  the 
delicate  white-clad  figure  of  Paula,  just  leaving  the  apart- 
ment with  Cicely. 

"  I  have  but  one  cause  for  regret,"  said  Mr.  Sylvester  as 
the  door  closed.  "  I  could  have  wished  that  you  and  Cicely 
had  participated  in  our  joy  and  received  the  minister's  bene- 
diction at  the  same  moment  as  ourselves." 

"Yes,"  said  Bertram  with  a  short  sigh.  "But  it  will 
come  in  time.  It  cannot  be  but  that  our  efforts  must  finally 
succeed.  I  have  just  had  a  new  idea;  that  of  putting  the 
watchman  on  the  hunt  for  Hopgood.  They  are  old  friends, 
and  he  ought  to  know  all  the  other's  haunts  and  possible 
hiding-places." 

"  If  Fanning  could  have  helped  us,  he  would  have  told 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  531 

us  long  ago.  He  knows  that  Hopgood  is  missing  and  that 
we  are  ready  to  pay  well  for  any  information  concerning 
him." 

"  But  they  are  old  cronies,  and  possibly  Fanning  is  keep- 
ing quiet  out  of  consideration  for  his  friend." 

"  No  ;  I  have  had  a  talk  with  Fanning,  and  there  was  no 
mistaking  his  look  of  surprise  when  told  the  other  had  run 
away  under  suspicion  of  being  connected  with  a  robbery  on 
the  bank's  effects.  He  knows  no  more  of  Hopgood  than  we 
do,  or  his  wife  does,  or  the  police  even.  It  is  a  strange  mys- 
tery, and  one  to  which  I  fear  we  shall  never  obtain  the  key. 
But  don't  let  me  discourage  you  ;  after  a  suitable  time  Mr. 
Stuyvesant  will — " 

He  paused,  for  that  gentleman  was  approaching  him. 

"  There  is  a  man  outside  who  insists  upon  seeing  me  ; 
says  he  knows  there  has  just  been  a  wedding  here,  but  that 
the  matter  he  has  to  communicate  is  very  important,  and 
won't  bear  putting  off.  The  name  on  his  card  is  Cummins  ; 
I  am  afraid  I  shall  have  to  admit  him,  that  is,  if  you  have  no 
objection  ?  " 

Mr.  Sylvester  and  Bertram  at  once  drew  back  with  ready 
acquiescence.  They  had  scarcely  taken  their  stand  at  the 
other  end  of  the  apartment,  when  the  man  came  in.  He 
was  of  robust  build,  round,  precise  and  business-like. 
He  had  taken  off  his  hat,  but  still  wore  his  overcoat ;  his 
face  in  spite  of  a  profusion  of  red  whiskers  and  a  decided 
pair  of  goggles,  was  earnest  and  straightforward.  He 
walked  at  once  up  to  Mr.  Stuyvesant. 


532  THE   SWORD    OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  Your  pardon,"  said  he,  in  a  quick  tone.  "  But  I  hear 
you  have  been  somewhat  exercised  of  late  over  the  disap- 
pearance of  certain  bonds  from  one  of  the  boxes  in  the 
Madison  Bank.  I  am  a  detective,  and  in  the  course  of  my 
duty  have  come  upon  a  few  facts  that  may  help  to  explain 
matters. 

Mr.  Sylvester  and  Bertram  at  once  started  forward  ;  this 
was  a  topic  that  demanded  their  attention  as  well  as  that 
of  the  master  of  the  house. 

The  man  cast  them  a  quick  look  from  behind  his  goggles, 
and  seeming  to  recognize  them,  included  them  in  his  next 
question. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  the  watchman,  Fanning  ?  " 

"  Think  ?  we  dont  think,"  uttered  Mr.  Stuyvesant  sharply. 
"  He  has  been  in  the  employ  of  the  bank  for  twelve  years, 
and  we  know  him  to  be  honest." 

"Yet  he  is  the  man  who  stole  your  bonds." 

"  Impossible  !  " 

"The  very  man." 

Mr.  Sylvester  stepped  up  to  him.  "  Who  are  you,  and 
how  do  you  know  this?  " 

"  I  have  said  my  name  is  Cummins,  and  I  know  this,  be- 
cause I  have  wormed  myself  into  the  man's  confidence  and 
have  got  the  bonds,  together  with  his  confession,  here  in  my 
pocket."  And  he  drew  out  the  long  lost  bonds,  which  he 
handed  to  their  owner,  with  a  bit  of  paper  on  which  was  in- 
scribed in  the  handwriting  of  the  watchman,  an  acknowl- 
edgment to  the  effect  that  he,  alone  and  unassisted,  had 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  533 

perpetrated  the  robbery  which  had  raised  such  scandal  in 
the  bank  and  led  to  the  disappearance  of  Hopgood." 

"  And  the  man  himself?  "  cried  Bertram,  when  they  had 
all  read  this.  "  Where  is  he  ?  " 

"  Oh,  I  allowed  him  to  escape." 

Mr.  Sylvester  frowned. 

"  There  is  something  about  this  I  don't  understand," 
said  he.  "  How  came  you  to  take  such  an  interest  in  this 
matter ;  and  why  did  you  let  the  man  escape  after  acknowl- 
edging his  crime  ?  " 

With  a  quick,  not  undignified  action,  Cummins  stepped 
back.  "Gentlemen,"  said  he,  "  it  is  allowable  in  a  detective 
in  the  course  of  his  duty,  to  resort  to  means  for  eliciting 
the  truth,  that  in  any  other  cause  and  for  any  other  purpose, 
would  be  denominated 'as  unmanly,  if  not  mean  and  con- 
temptible. When  I  heard  of  this  robbery,  as  I  did  the  day 
after  its  perpetration,  my  mind  flew  immediately  to  the 
watchman  as  the  possible  culprit.  I  did  not  know  that  he 
had  done  the  deed,  and  I  did  not  see  how  he  could  have 
possessed  the  means  of  doing  it,  but  I  had  been  acquainted 
with  him  for  some  time,  and  certain  expressions  which  I  had 
overheard  him  use — expressions  that  had  passed  over  me 
lightly  at  the  time,  now  recurred  to  my  mind  with  startling 
distinctness.  •'  If  a  man  knew  the  combination  of  the  vault 
door,  how  easily  he  could  make  himself  rich  from  the  contents 
of  those  boxes  ! '  was  one,  I  remember;  and  another,  '  I  have 
worked  in  the  bank  for  twelve  years  and  have  not  so  much 
money  laid  up  against  a  rainy  day,  as  would  furnish  Mr. 


534  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

Sylvester  in  cigars  for  a  month.'  The  fact  that  he  had  no 
opportunity  to  learn  the  combination,  was  the  only  stum- 
bling-block in  the  way  of  my  conclusions.  But  that  ob- 
stacle was  soon  removed.  In  a  talk  with  the  janitor's  wife — 
a  good  woman,  sirs,  but  a  trifle  conceited — I  learned  that  he 
had  once  had  the  very  opportunity  of  which  I  speak,  pro- 
vided he  was  smart  enough  to  recognize  the  fact.  The  way 
it  came  about  was  this.  Hopgood,  who  always  meant  to  do 
about  the  right  thing,  as  I  know,  was  one  morning  very  sick, 
so  sick  that  when  the  time  came  for  him  to  go  down  and 
open  the  vaults  for  the  day,  he  couldn't  stir  from  his  bed,  or 
at  least  thought  he  couldn't.  Twice  had  the  watchman  rung 
for  him,  and  twice  had  he  tried  to  get  up,  only  to  fall  back 
again  on  his  pillow.  At  last  the  call  became  imperative  ;  the 
clerks  would  soon  be  in,  and  the  books  were  not  even  in 
readiness  for  them.  Calling  his  wife  to  him,  he  asked  if  she 
thought  she  could  open  the  vault  door  provided  she  knew 
the  combination.  She  returned  a  quite  eager,  '  yes,'  being  a 
naturally  vain  woman  and  moreover  a  little  sore  over  the 
fact  that  her  husband  never  entrusted  her  with  any  of  his 
secrets.  '  Then,'  said  he,  '  listen  to  these  three  numbers  that 
I  give  you  ;  and  turn  the  knob  accordingly,'  explaining  the 
matter  in  a  way  best  calculated  to  enlighten  her  as  to  what 
she  had  to  do.  She  professed  herself  as  understanding  per- 
fectly and  went  off  in  quite  a  flutter  of  satisfaction  to  ac- 
complish her  task.  But  though  he  did  not  know  it  at  the 
time,  it  seems  that  her  heart  failed  her  when  she  got  into  the 
hall,  and  struck  with  fear  lest  she  should  forget  the  numbers 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  535 

before  she  got  to  the  foot  of  the  stairs,  she  came  back,  and 
carefully  wrote  them  down  on  a  piece  of  paper,  armed  with 
which  she  started  for  the  second  time  to  fulfil  her  task.  The 
watchman  was  in  the  bank  when  she  entered,  and  to  his  ex- 
pressions of  surprise,  she  answered  that  her  husband  was  ill 
and  that  she  was  going  to  open  the  vaults.  He  offered  to 
help  her,  but  she  stared  at  him  with  astonishment,  and  wait- 
ing till  he  had  walked  to  the  other  end  of  the  bank,  pro- 
ceeded to  the  vault  door,  and  after  carefully  consulting  the 
paper  in  her  hand,  was  about  to  turn  the  knob  as  directed, 
when  Hopgood  himself  came  into  the  room.  He  was  too 
anxious,  he  said,  to  keep  in  bed,  and  though  he  trembled  at 
every  step,  came  forward  and  accomplished  the  task  himself. 
He  did  not  see  the  paper  in  his  wife's  hand,  nor  notice  her 
when  she  tore  it  up  and  threw  the  pieces  in  the  waste-basket 
near-by,  but  the  watchman  may  have  observed  her,  and  as 
it  afterwards  proved,  did  ;  and  thus  became  acquainted  with 
the  combination  that  unlocked  the  outer  vault  doors." 

"  Humph  !  "  broke  in  Mr.  Sylvester,  "  if  this  is  true,  why 
didn't  Hopgood  inform  me  of  the  matter  when  I  questioned 
him  so  closely  ?  " 

"  Because  he  had  forgotten  the  circumstance.  He  was 
in  a  fever  at  the  time,  and  having  eventually  unlocked  the 
vault  himself,  lost  sight  of  the  fact  that  he  had  previously 
sent  his  wife  to  do  it.  He  went  back  to  his  bed  after  the 
clerks  came  in,  and  did  not  get  up  again  till  night.  He  may 
have  thought  the  whole  occurrence  part  of  the  delirium 
which  more  than  once  assailed  him  that  day." 


536  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  I  remember  his  being  sick,"  said  Bertram  ;  "  it  was  two 
or  three  days  before  the  robbery." 

"  The  very  day  before,"  corrected  the  man  ;  "  but  let  me 
tell  my  story  in  my  own  way.  Having  learned  from  Mrs. 
Hopgood  of  this  opportunity  which  had  been  given  to 
Fanning,  I  made  up  my  mind  to  sift  the  matter.  Being  as  I 
have  said  a  friend  of  his,  I  didn't,  want  to  peach  on  him 
unless  he  was  guilty.  To  blast  an  honest  man's  reputation, 
is,  I  think,  one  of  the  meanest  tricks  of  which  a  fellow  can 
be  guilty  :  but  the  truth  I  had  to  know,  and  in  order  to 
learn  it,  a  deep  and  delicate  game  was  necessary.  Gentle- 
men, when  the  police  have  strong  suspicions  against  a 
person  whose  reputation  is  above  reproach  and  whose  con- 
duct affords  no  opportunity  for  impeachment,  they  set  a 
springe  for  him.  One  of  their  number  disguises  himself, 
and  making  the  acquaintance  of  this  person,  insinuates  him- 
self by  slow  degrees — often  at  the  cost  of  months  of  effort — 
into  his  friendship  and  if  possible  into  his  confidence.  'Tis 
a  detestable  piece  of  business,  but  it  is  all  that  will  serve  in 
some  cases,  and  has  at  least  the  merit  of  being  as  dangerous 
as  it  is  detestable.  This  plan,  I  undertook  with  Fanning. 
Changing  my  appearance  to  suit  the  necessities  of  the  case, 
I  took  board  in  the  small  house  in  Brooklyn  where  he  puts 
up,  and  being  well  acquainted  with  his  tastes,  knew  how  to 
adapt  myself  to  his  liking.  He  was  a  busy  man,  and  being 
obliged  by  his  duties  to  turn  night  into  day,  had  not  much 
time  to  bestow  upon  me  or  any  one  else  ;  but  heedful  of 
this,  I  managed  to  make  the  most  of  the  spare  moments 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  537 

that  saw  us  together,  and  ere  long  we  were  very  good  com- 
rades, and  further  on,  very  good  friends.  The  day  when  I 
first  ventured  to  suggest  that  honesty  was  all  very  well  as  long 
as  it  paid,  was  a  memorable  one  to  me.  In  that  cast  of  the 
die  I  was  either  to  win  or  lose  the  game  I  had  undertaken. 
I  won.  After  a  feint  or  two,  to  see  if  I  were  in  earnest,  he 
fell  into  the  net,  and  though  he  did  not  commit  himself 
then,  it  was  not  long  before  he  came  to  me,  and  deliberately 
requested  my  assistance  in  disposing  of  some  bonds  which 
he  was  smart  enough  to  acquire,  but  not  daring  enough  to 
attempt  to  sell.  Of  course  the  whole  story  came  out,  and  I 
was  sympathetic  enough  till  I  got  the  bonds  into  my  hands, 
then — But  I  leave  you  to  imagine  what  followed.  Enough 
that  I  wrung  this  confession  from  him,  and  that  in  considera- 
tion of  the  doubtful  game  I  had  played  upon  him,  let  him 
go  where  he  is  by  this  time  beyond  the  chance  of  pursuit." 

"  But  your  duty  to  your  superior ;  your  oath  as  a  mem- 
ber of  the  force  ? " 

"  My  superior  is  here  !  "  said  the  man  pointing  to  Mr. 
Sylvester ;  "  an  unconscious  one  I  own,  but  still  my  supe- 
rior ;  and  as  for  my  being  a  member  of  the  force,  that,  was 
true  five  years  ago,  but  not  to-day."  And  brushing  off  his 
whiskers  with  one  hand  and  taking  off  his  goggles  with  the 
other,  Hopgood,  the  janitor,  stood  before  them  ! 

It  was  a  radiant  figure  that  met  Cicely,  when  she  came 
down  stairs  with  Paula,  and  a  joyous  group  that  soon  sur- 
rounded the  now  blushing  and  embarrassed  janitor,  with 


538  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

questions  and  remarks  concerning  this  great  and  unexpected 
development  of  affairs.  But  the  fervor  with  which  Mr.  Stuy- 
vesant  clasped  Bertram's  hand,  and  the  look  with  which  Cicely 
turned  from  her  young  lover  to  bestow  a  final  kiss  upon  the 
departing  bride,  was  worth  all  the  pains  and  self-denial  of 
the  last  few  weeks — or  sc  the  janitor  thought,  who  with  a 
quicker  comprehension  than  usual,  had  divined  the  situation 
and  rejoiced  in  the  result.  But  the  most  curious  thing  of  all 
was  to  observe  how,  with  the  taking  off  of  his  goggles,  Hop- 
good  had  relapsed  into  his  old  shrinking,  easily  embarrassed 
self.  The  man  who  but  a  few  minutes  before  had  related  in 
their  hearing  a  clear  and  succinct  narrative,  now  shrank  if  a 
question  was  put  him,  and  stammered  in  quite  his  ancient 
fashion,  when  he  answered  Mr.  Sylvester's  shake  of  the  hand, 
by  a  hurried  : 

"  I  am  going  to  see  my  wife  now,  sir.  She's  a  good 
woman,  if  a  little  nighty,  and  will  be  the  last  one  in  the  fu- 
ture to  beg  me  to  put  more  confidence  in  her.  Will  you  tell 
me  where  she  is,  sir  ?  " 

Mr.  Sylvester  informed  him  ;  then  added,  "  But  look 
here,  Hopgood,  answer  me  one  thing  before  you  go.  Why 
is  it  that  with  such  talents  as  you  possess,  you  didn't  stay 
in  the  police  force  ?  You  are  a  regular  g-,nius  in  your  way, 
and  ought  not  to  drone  away  your  existence  as  a  janitor." 

"Ah,  sir,"  replied  the  other,  shaking  his  head,  "a  man 
who  is  only  capable  of  assuming  one  disguise,  isn't  good  for 
much  as  a  professional  detective.  Goggles  and  red  whiskers 
will  deceive  one  rogue,  but  not  fifty.  My  eyes  were  my  bane, 


WOMAN'S  LOVE.  539 

sir,  and  ultimately  cost  me  my  place.  While  I  could  cover 
them  up  I  was  all  right.  It  not  only  made  a  man  of  me,  leav- 
ing me  free  to  talk  and  freer  to  think,  but  disguised  me  so, 
my  best  friends  couldn't  recognize  me  ;  but  after  awhile  my 
goggles  were  too  well  known  for  me  to  be  considered  of 
much  further  use  to  the  department,  and  I  was  obliged  to 
send  in  my  resignation.  It  is  too  bad,  but  I  have  no  ver- 
satility, sir.  I'm  either  the  clumsy,  stammering  creature 
you  have  always  known,  or  else  I  am  the  man  Cummins  you 
saw  here  a  few  minutes  ago." 

"  In  either  case  an  honest  fellow,"  answered  Mr.  Sylves- 
ter, and  allowed  the  janitor  to  depart. 

One  more  scene,  and  this  in  the  house  which  Paula  is 
henceforth  to  make  a  home  for  herself  and  its  once  melan- 
choly owner.  They  have  come  back  from  their  wedding- 
journey,  and  are  standing  in  their  old  fashion,  he  at  the 
foot,  and  she  half  way  up  the  stairs.  Suddenly  she  turns 
and  descends  to  his  side. 

"  No,  I  will  not  wait,"  said  she.  "  Here,  on  this  spot  we 
both  love  so  well,  and  in  this  the  first  hour  of  our  return,  I 
will  unburden  my  mind  of  what  I  have  to  say.  Edward,  is 
there  nothing  of  all  the  past  that  still  rests  upon  you  like  a 
shadow  ?  Not  one  little  regret  you  could  wish  taken 
away  ?  " 

"  No,"  said  he,  enfolding  her  in  his  arms  with  a  solemn 
smile.  "  The  great  gift  which  I  hold  is  the  fruit  of  that  past, 
perhaps  ;  I  cannot  wish  it  changed." 


540  THE   SWORD   OF  DAMOCLES. 

"  But  the  sense  of  obligation  never  fulfilled,  would  you 
not  be  happier  if  that  were  removed  ?  " 

"  Perhaps,"  he  said,  "  but  it  cannot  be  now.  I  shall 
have  to  live  without  being  perfectly  happy." 

She  lifted  her  face  and  her  smile  shone  like  a  star.  "  Oh 
God  is  good,"  she  cried,  "  you  shall  not  lack  being  perfectly 
happy  ;  and  taking  a  little  paper  out  of  her  pocket  she  put 
it  in  his  hand.  "  We  found  that  hidden  in  Jacqueline 
Japha's  breast,  when  we  went  to  lay  her  out  for  burial." 

It  was  only  a  line;  but  it  made  Mr.  Sylvester's  brow 
flush  and  his  voice  tremble. 

"  Whatever  I  own,  and  I  have  been  told  that  I  am  far 
from  penniless,  I  desire  to  have  given  to  the  dear  and  dis- 
interested girl  that  first  told  me  of  Margery  Hamlin's  vigil." 

"  Paula,  Paula,  Paula,  thou  art  indeed  my  good  gift ! 
May  God  make  me  worthy  of  your  love  and  of  this  His  last 
and  most  unexpected  mercy  !  " 

And  the  look  which  crossed  her  face,  was  that  sweet  and 
unearthly  radiance  which  speaks  of  perfect  peace. 


UNIVERSITY  OF  CALIFORNIA  LIBRARY 

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This  book  is  DUE  on  the  last  date  stamped  below. 


REC'D  LD-UBI), 


I98T 

SEP  1  5  196T, 


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Form  L9-Series  444 

uid  character." — Christian  Register 

O  P.  PUTNAM'S  SONS. 


New  York 


3  1158  01186  3692 

PUBLICATIONS  OF  G.  P.  PUTNAM'S  SO\\ 


A    NK\V    IJOiiK    liV    TT 


HOLLAND  AND 

Constant. 
Octavo.      \Vit! 


\  i  dies    t 
\_,rt  ;>la 


n  this  volume  ol 
London  and  New  Vork 
turned  his  steps  to  a  \a.<^ 
dramati  ;  interest,  and 
that  his  pen  has  lost  t 
trsitsar'l  r^aract 
the  histur          liuroi 


:t  a  itho 
in  pi  -t 
scription, 
•   'i>ce 
..    si      (1 

a;;,'  api' 

"  In  de' c'  '-a  ;agu:.,  ^i^i.or  Amicis  is  at  home 

flows  1'r  >m  his  ;•    .  a. .a  l,;;litens  the  pages  into  p'-> 
the   Latin  type,  a  disposition  to  b  -  am.:      '•  b       .if    ' 
if  hi    "  utch   frie  'f's  a    -i  :     r 
vs  ^v.•;         'ia 


emotions  of 
qualities  r-id 
a  Barne 


of   won'ii.. 
charming." 


\-  •  s:i 
'  •  'i 
ndo  d 

••    •  1     'n 
//  <•/.?•• 


"  It  is  onsy  sii  (  'i       *  e    i-.-i 

hardly  may  be  found."  —  Pk  i.  a..f  */.;.  ii»n<.*. 

"  His  sparkling,  grnr   ic  booV  is  a  thoroughly  charming  o>  :,  to  wuk 
st  unaffected  praise.''    -Lo-iin-^'i'    '»•       ••      -  ••    - 


the  most 


^ 

.or  of 
the 


eauty. 
sense 


.     ravels 
we  give 


BY    THE    SAME    AUTHOR. 


CONSTANTINOPLE.     Svo,  cloth ^i  50 

De  Amicis  is  one  of  the  strongest  and  most  brilliant  of  the  present  generation 
of  Italian  writers,  and  this  latest  work  from  his  pen.  as  well  from  the  pictufesqueness 
of  its  descriptions  as  for  its  skilful  analysis  of  the  traits  and  characteristics  of  th»  med- 
ley of  races  represented  in  the  Turkish  capital,  possesses  an  exceptional  interest  and 
value. 

"  The  most  picturesque  and  entertaining  volume  contained  in  the  recent  litera- 
ture on  the  Eastern  question." — Boston  Journal. 

"  A  remarkable  we.  k  *  *  *  the  author  is  a  poet,  an  artist,  a  wonder- 
worker in  wori.s  *  *  *  his  c  ^  ripdons  are  given  w  .  .  "  —  N.  i ".  Evening 


STUDIES  OF  P/  ~    S  DMUN 

stanlinople,"  "       >roct_c  '11:     a, 


i.  AMICIS,  author  of  "Con- 
v..     1 2mo,  cloth  extra,  $i   25 


A  series  of  wondeifi '.lv  virid  aar1  Ira  ^tic  p.ctures  of  the  great  world's  me- 
tropolis, by  a  writer  whose  vio  •-•  u  >k-  'i  •  air  '  a  repu'.a'ion  for  exceptional 
clearness  of  perception  and  facilil  •  m  ;i  stripnor,  '  i  is  h;  -  ••  a  writer  who  can 
rival  him  in  his  power  of  reproducing  for  his  readers  the  ve  osphere  of  the  place 

he  describes.  Th  _se  "  Studie  .  '  inclndi  oritrina1  ani'  characteristic  papers  o.i  the  two 
authors  whom  he  considers  especially  rt  n  -o,  itac;\  j  •„  !v  C;  .  is  of  to-day — Hugo  and 
Zola. 

"  Poet  in  prose,  paii. icr  in  phrases,  su'-'.e  -M  -ian  ir.  the  harmonies  of  lan- 
guage, do  Amicis  has  comprehended  '..e  .  tuo.u  ama/ement,  the  potent  charm  of 
Paris  as  no  writer  before  him  has  done." — Portland  Pref 

"  A  marvel  of  intense,  rapid,  graphic  iiv1  .  ,  v  one  of  the  most 

brilliant  of  modern  Italian  writers.  The  chu,  v  >n  ^u  ,o  show  the  same 

power  o  description  and  a  .uiyvs  in  doali.;^  wiih  urnd  *'  u  .  er." — Christian 
Register. 


